This week, students have the chance to swap their clothes with another in a university-sponsored event called Swap-o-Rama.

The Women and Gender Equity Center is sponsoring the clothing swap. It is for students who are in need of clothing for personal or financial reasons. On the day of the swap, anyone can bring in clothing and then exchange it for clothes others brought.ÿ

WAGE also sponsored a clothing drive in Davies on Monday and Wednesday. The last clothing swap will be from noon to 4 p.m. today in Davies Cabin. This drive helps the group’s “Clothing Closet” located at the Goodwill and Hope Gospel Mission, where students can always go to donate clothes and buy them.

This year, the clothing drive and the clothing swap both use the theme of “fighting consumerism.”ÿ

Graduate student Tiffany Gerber, one of WAGE’s coordinators, said that large corporations entice people to buy expensive clothes they do not need through advertisements.

“Instead of purchasing items at a corporate store, we encourage students, faculty and staff to look at the selection brought in by others,” Gerber said. “This way they can find anything there to use instead of spending their hard earned money on new items.”ÿ

Gerber thinks the clothing drive and swap will help people, especially women, to stop spending money they don’t have.ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ

“Consumerism is gender biased,” Gerber said. “Women are mainly the target audience for consuming, and we just want to provide an alternate route to going to the mall.”ÿ

Throughout the year, WAGE sponsors other activities such as National Coming Out Day, the Dating and Domestic Violence Rally, and Love Your Body Day.

“We provide students with educational activities, events, speakers and programming that foster a positive campus climate,” Gerber said. “We are here for all students, but especially for women and gendered students.”

Creating awareness of certain issues through a clothing drive or a swap drive is something that is very important to WAGE.

Gerber said it is also important for students to get the clothing if they need it, at any point in the semester through the Clothing Closet.

“It is important to build our Clothing Closet each semester,” Gerber said. “Students in need can come to us and get the clothing they need that fits them and fits the occasion.”