It’s 15 degrees outside. You’re walking on campus, trying to make it to your 9:30 a.m. class. You’re bundled up, wearing long socks, jeans, a sweatshirt and a winter coat. On your walk, a cold breeze hits your face, you look down to block the wind, and a tear drips down your cheek.
“Ugh, it’s so f–cking cold,” you think to yourself.
You are steps away from your class building now, and as you look up once the wind subsides, you see a man in shorts. You are gagged—but this is not the first time a man has been rocking shorts in freezing weather.
From middle school highlighter shorts to college khakis, the epidemic of men who wear shorts no matter the weather has yet to cease.
Keirolyn Hernandez, a freshman psychology major, is a witness. She said she’s seen men wearing shorts in winter on and off campus.
“Throughout high school and middle school, the boys were always like just wearing shorts,” Hernandez said. “I don’t get why.”
Laser Fredrick, a junior finance major, is guilty of wearing shorts in winter. His short decision was shaped around his gym plans, he said
“I come out of the gym hot and sweaty, so it feels fine out in the cold,” Frederick said. “I really don’t mind it. I don’t notice it, to be honest."
Others, like junior visual sound media major Will Jones, said wearing shorts is all about mental toughness.
“You’ve got to create little wins every day, and you'll become stronger,” Jones said.
But for Ryan Fox, a junior communications major, it’s not about being cold; it’s about being comfortable.
“I don’t know if this is just me, but in the cold walking to classes and stuff like that,” Fox said. “I always get cold sweats…I’ve always been a huge fan of long-sleeved tops and then shorts.”
Jones said shorts provide more “freedom,” so he is always ready for anything.
“What if I need to flee?” Jones said. “What if there is some kind of emergency? If I’m wearing jeans, it’s restrictive. I need to be able to move.”
While Jones’ closet is mostly shorts, Fox puts most of his shorts away for the wintertime, but he finds a variety balance in his collection.
“For me, it is less about the temperature, the physical number,” Fox said. “It’s more so about how I’m feeling. One day, it might be like 40 degrees when I’m like I don’t feel like being cold today.”
The clothing decisions of men have made women like Briana Loaiza, a freshman public relations major, realize that she feels as if men don’t have a sense of weather.
“They just dress the same no matter what,” Loaiza said. “If it’s, like, the clothes that they like to wear.”
Some men, like Fredrick, don’t think too much about their choice of shorts. The Pennsylvania-born said he doesn’t really notice the cold.
“We’re not really affected too much by the cold,” Fredrick said. “I think a lot of us are from around here, in New York.”
For some men, their daily plans play a role in deciding what to wear in the morning.
“If I’m going to be shoveling snow, I probably wouldn’t wear shorts,” Jones said. “If I’m going to be [outside] for an extended period of time…I got to keep my knees healthy for the long run.”
When confronted about wearing shorts, Jones acknowledges and accepts that he is doing something a bit “outrageous.”
“I think a lot of people care about the effort that you put into your appearance, and then there are some people who care more than others,” Fox said. “I think it is less about a fashion thing, and more like a subconscious thing you don’t really think about.”
Calla Patino is the head editor of The Setonian’s Opinion section. She can be reached at calla.patino@student.shu.edu.
