When I came to this campus last semester, the thing that impressed me more than the number of students on campus, and the diversity of ethnicity of our population, was the overwhelming lack of diversity in styles of dress on campus.

The professors on campus show more flair than the students here. I?ll see radical ties and brightly colored skirts, a brilliant scarf draped around those who are paid to be here, and yet the students here overwhelmingly buy into mall culture. I have never seen more T-shirts and khakis outside of a Gap advertisement. Sacramento State is like a mannequin trade fair except with less chalky white skin.

We need more freaky people. Let?s see multicolored hair, unusual uses of fishnets and hand dyed silk pajama pants. Visitors should be overwhelmed by the incredible ideas that people come up with to cover their bodies in new and beautiful ways.

Michael Franti of the band Spearhead calls to us: “Get together, freaky people of the world!” Let?s dazzle our classmates with flowers in our hair, sarongs in gold and fuchsia shimmering in the sun, and bowler hats. Who cares about appropriating another?s culture? I want mass beauty at Sac State, filled with Chinese slippers on top of French stockings, Native American basket hats with shetland wool. Unrestrained creative expression is my goal.

Now that my eyes can see beyond the whitewashed exterior, I revel in the few rebels on campus, those daring folks who wear vintage Adidas, or a cute girl in old man pants from a thrift store. I can see those who do think they are expressing themselves by buying a slightly odd color of tight top and recognizing the subtle differences to make one stand out.

Maybe I shouldn?t blame students for buying into the majority. Hey, even the denizens of exotic locales have adopted American dress. It?s just too easy to go to the mall and get what is offered to us, packaged and presented to assure us that we are making the right social decision. In 1999, there were 5,890 shopping malls in California, with the massive Rosevill Galleria opening in our area since. Heck, shopping malls are at the core of American culture, with tourists visiting more malls than any other American institution, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.

I don?t buy it. Americans are known for their radical devotion to freedom, a nation based on revolution. Where does this consumerism come in? Group dynamics are strong, but it has become ridiculous in California. There is no need to be weak anymore. Even in the Midwest, denigrated for their supposed cautious artistic sensibilities, I have seen more individual expression. Let?s show some inspiring fringe beauty. I claim tommorow, May 2 as Sac State?s Radical Beauty Day, as an antidote to the everyday dress. Let?s show the rest of the state that we have some surprises under our sweatshirts.

Are you freaky enough? E-mail Samantha Hinrichs at [email protected].

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