The Ithaca winter is one of the few sources of delight on Cornell’s campus, given the influence of Martha’s mystical weather machine.
The winter invites cozy fireplace stories, hot chocolate to share with friends, and excites the holiday spirit within us. The visual sights are plenty to adore. The blank sheet of snow invites snow angels, the frozen gorges make for awe-inspiring icicles, and most importantly, the cold entices people to wear clothes.
Yes, clothes. Winter clothing is not something necessarily beautiful given its poofy and layered styling. However, winter clothing supplies an outstanding benefit to the human being–besides keeping the body at a homeostasis. Winter clothing clothes people. The Cornell campus is toxic to the eyes throughout the summer and fall months, where students dress immodestly, thinking it is proper to not wear clothes.
In a place that allows for rampant degeneracy with few repercussions, covering up some skin makes everyone’s time on campus a bit purer. The freshmen, who have discovered hook-up culture (for goodness sake, the Sun has “Sex on Thursdays” every week), are finally forced to wear something to hide those hideous hickeys. Girls, who compete to wear the least clothing possible on Friday nights, are forced to have at least a layer of cover, so as to not freeze. Boys, too, dress more modestly, having no excuse for wearing shorts to religious services or formal events.
We are all called to dress more responsibly, given America has deemed dressing like a slob socially acceptable. Context does matter when it comes to choosing what to wear. For example, it is unfitting to wear athletic wear to a job interview where the dress code should clearly be formal or the ever-changing standard of “business casual.” Furthermore, everyone ought to be more conscious of appearances and make sure sweatpants and hoodies are not commonplace in places outside of one’s residence as they are sloppy no matter how well one thinks they fit. Loungewear should stay at home and exercise attire should not be the standard outside the gym.
However, this does not mean one should excuse, during times of heat, not wearing clothes or showing an amount of skin which can be tempting to the eyes of many. The reason I know this is not a valid excuse is because inhabitants of the desert completely cover themselves up irrespective of religious beliefs.
The wise St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori prescribed that ‘We must practice modesty, not only in our looks, but also in our whole deportment, and particularly in our dress, our walk, our conversation, and all similar actions.’
So, keep in mind, the next time you dress up, and it’s cold outside, that you are preserving your own dignity and reciprocating that sentiment to others.
This piece was written by a concerned member of the community who wishes to remain anonymous.
An earlier version of this article used an ill-fitting idiom. It has since been removed.
