Students can get rid of any T-shirt, hoodie or hat from another university and swap it for credit at The University Bookstore in the first-ever President’s Swap N Shop.

The Swap N Shop happens Feb. 12 to 16 and allows students with clothing representing other universities to part ways with it in exchange for bookstore credit. The credit is good until Feb. 17, but there is only one coupon per customer.

If students bring in University of South Dakota or North Dakota State University apparel they will receive $20 in-store credit. They can get rid of any unwanted T-shirt, hoodie or hat from another university and swap it for $10.

“What better way to add a little something if it’s USD or NDSU,” said Assistant Director of The Bookstore Amber Healy. “Because they are our rivals and I thought it would be a cool incentive.”

This came about after Healy heard about President Barry Dunn buying a new Jackrabbit hat for a student wearing another college’s logo.

Dunn said he started purchasing and giving students SDSU attire in 2010 when he was the dean of the College of Agricultural and Biological Sciences. He started because of his previous position at Texas A&M.

“… I was impressed at the pride students, faculty, staff and alumni had in Texas A&M and how they showed that by wearing the school colors, buying and wearing apparel from their bookstore and proudly displaying the A&M brand in everything from lapel pins to PowerPoint presentations,” Dunn said.

Jonathan Neswick, music education major, remembers when Dunn gave him a South Dakota State University pin at a Students’ Association retreat last semester.

Neswick was wearing a Wartburg College T-shirt and Dunn gave him the pin so he had “something that’s SDSU.”
“It’s a pretty personable gesture,” he said. “It shows a lot about his character, and shows he’s an outgoing, approachable guy.”

Neswick wears the pin on his jacket now for “dressy occasions.”

“We all have so much to be proud of,” Dunn said. “… And it helps build our campus community. It’s a way to lift each other up.”

Any exchanged items will lay on a table in front of the store, so shoppers can view all the clothing that has been swapped in. Healy plans to donate the items collected, but she doesn’t know where the other college’s clothes will eventually end up.

“I think it would be kind of fun to research and find a group, or [donate to] the Women’s Abuse Domestic Shelter or somewhere that could benefit from this because I am sure that some of them will be in really good condition,” Healy said.

She is hoping the initial event proves to be to be successful.

“This is something we hope to do every year. It’s the first annual and we’re going to see how it goes,” Healy said. “It would be something we would continue to do President’s Weekend.”

While this event is targeted at students, the Brookings community has been showing interest as well, Healy said.
“We haven’t done much advertising because we’ve been focusing on the students here at SDSU,” Healy said. “It’s amazing, all the calls we’ve gotten asking about more information on it, and saying this is really cool.”

Dunn will make an appearance at the Shop N Swap sometime on the morning of Feb. 12.

The event is funny to Katie Lucas, biology secondary education and chemistry education double-major, even though she probably won’t participate.

“I’ve always been a Jackrabbit,” she said. “I don’t have any USD or NDSU stuff because I was raised by two Jackrabbits. It’s a good opportunity for transfer students, though.”

Dunn said he has a similar problem.

“I dug through my closet and I don’t have anything from another school to swap,” he said. “But I will definitely shop.”