As the seasons change, it is time for us to start donning our parkas to fight the miserably cold Cleveland weather and trudge through the seven inches of overnight snow or the mile high pile of leaves left near the sidewalk. There really is nothing as great as waking up to the sounds of continuous noise made from the maintenance leaf blowers.

However, as fall transitions to winter and our attitudes transition to negativity, another Case Western tradition has arrived – the emergence of sweatpants!

I’m not quite familiar with the allure of sweatpants, but I have come to realize that they are part of the regular college wardrobe and are starting to make a fashion statement as they do this time each year. These sweatpants are not to be confused with flannel pajamas or the windbreaker pants. I’m talking about the generally warm, gray, unisex cotton trousers.

Perhaps I was living under a rock for four years during high school because I had to wear a uniform, but I’ve found that more and more people are wearing more and more creative looking sweatpants.

First, there are the school pride sweatpants. It would not surprise me to learn that the most popular apparel piece from the bookstore would include the navy blue or gray Case Western logoed sweatpants – simple, yet complex.

Then, there are the second most common types: other prideful sweatpants. These may have your high school tennis team logo, embroidered sorority letters, a stylish plaid design, or an obnoxious slogan plastered on the rear. This category is the greatest oxymoron: stylish sweatpants.

Finally, there is the trashy sweatpants including the too baggy, too tight, or elastic band around the ankle pairs. These should probably be retired to the trash or Salvation Army.

Since we can all agree that sweatpants are a staple at this university, we can also agree that they have ebbs and flows of usage throughout the school week.

For example, Sunday, without a doubt, has to be the height of the sweatpants-wearing week. If you have walked out of your room to Wade, the dining hall, or the library, you will have noticed that three out of every five people are wearing the comfortable style.

The above information was gathered through an extensive one-day survey at Kelvin Smith library.

The second top day is Friday. If you watch outside of any large lecture hall, you’ll notice quite the collection of shades of grey. I attribute this to a rough thirsty Thursday or the need for a comfortable nap during chemistry or physics.

I have also found Mondays to be a fond sweatpants day, but this may be because of the laziness of the first part of the week.

For your own good, I plead you to skip the sweatpants when you’re trying to make an impression on someone. If you have a final presentation, need to do some active academic classroom work that involves moving from your desk, or generally need to make a positive impression, leave the ultra-stylish grey pants with matching gray hoodie at home for a couple of hours.

And please, whatever you do, never combine sweatpants with food like Taco Bell and try to give them away to the entire class. The demand for free sweatpants will never meet the supply, and general anger will ensue for years to come.