University implements Barbour jacket drive for needy Sewanee boys

A needy Sewanee boy receives his first Barbour jacket. Photo by Matt Hembree (C’20).

By Colton Williams
Junior Editor

Noticing that not all male Sewanee students seem to have Barbour jackets, the University has taken the initiative to begin a Barbour jacket drive for the holiday season.

The Dean of Students Office recently released a statement saying that “this Christmas, we strive to see every single Sewanee boy clothed in a nice, green-and-brown Barbour jacket. The fact that there are still male Sewanee students who do not own a Barbour jacket is something we, as a community, must remedy.”

The Dean’s office will be partnering with IFC/ISC, the Order of the Gown, and the University Wellness Center to put on the Barbour jacket drive. “Every day at Clurg we’ll have, I don’t know, like somewhere between 75 and 150 guys walking around in the exact same Barbour jacket, asking if people would like to participate in the drive,” said IFC/ISC Vice President Saylor Duckworth III (C’19), an economics major.

The stated goal is to gather enough Barbour jackets to clothe the underprivileged Sewanee boys already on campus, while also having enough on reserve to give to the incoming freshmen class.

“I just hate seeing these new freshmen come to campus, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, and they don’t even have a Barbour jacket,” said Cody Taylor-Tyler (C’21), an economics major. “It’s like, dude, how are you going to fit in here? You don’t even have a Barbour jacket.”

The lack of a sense of belonging for those without a Barbour jacket has been a concern to Sarah Healthman, a clinician at the Wellness Center. “Too many boys come to Sewanee and then realize they don’t have a Barbour jacket, and all of a sudden they feel like they don’t belong. I mean, which is true, they don’t, so that’s why we need this initiative.”

Not all students, however, saw the immediate need for the Barbour jacket drive. “Wait,” said Liam Gorgas-Armfield (C’20), an economics major, “not everyone has a Barbour jacket?”

One student, who preferred not to be named, said that he thinks the Barbour jacket drive is a great idea. “I’m one of… you know… the un-Barboured. So I think it’s great that the University finally realized the need for all Sewanee boys to look identical, like little factory-made Colin Josts.”

The table for the drive was swarmed throughout the first week of accepting donations, with four 18-22-year-old male economics majors of average height and build manning the table. Some students have already received their jackets. “Ah, man,” said Brooks Brothers, Jr.  (C’22), opening his jacket. “I only got the Barbour Engineered Garments Dumbo Waxed Cotton Jacket.”