Four years, and all I got was this t-shirt

When I first began packing my stuff for college, nearly all my friends at Princeton told me to make sure I didn't bring too many T-shirts. I was initially a bit confused by this advice - what else was I going to wear? Upon arriving here, however, it all made sense; half our tuition, apparently, goes toward the free T-shirts.

Princetonians take their free T-shirt culture very seriously. My roommate and her friend have an ongoing contest to see who can collect the most amount of free clothing by the end of this semester. I think my roommate has about 10 shirts so far, and we're barely one month into the year.

If Outdoor Action doesn't convince you of Princeton's generosity when it comes to T-shirts, then the Pre-Rade definitely will. I knew that the ceremonial walk through FitzRandolph Gate would be memorable, but I didn't know that it would be because of all the volunteers flinging T-shirts at bewildered freshmen while screaming out shirt sizes. Some frosh are even lucky enough to collect an extra free T-shirt if their residential college is generous enough to provide them with one as a welcome gift.

There is one problem with the shirts, though, and that's the size. It always seems that the only options left are XL or XXL. If you turn up slightly late for an event, it's pretty certain you'll end up with a T-shirt that's twice your size. In fact, a friend once remarked to me that with all the open desserts in the dining halls, the unlimited ice cream and the extra-large T-shirts, it seems as if Princeton is trying to make sure we fit into those shirts by the end of our four years.