Written by Abbey Williams // Photo provided by Abbey Williams
There is a wolf pack of students roaming around campus, sporting wolf shirts every Wednesday. Started by sophomore Sam Taylor at the beginning of the spring semester, the trend is called Wolf Shirt Wednesday, and the pack has continued to grow.
Freshman Ava Boyle said Taylor was the reason she started wearing a wolf shirt every Wednesday.
“One time, Sam was wearing a wolf shirt, so me and one of my friends, Amberlee Ellis, went to Walmart and found wolf shirts, and Sam lost her mind,” Boyle said. “I was like, ‘Why not. Let’s add some spice to Harding’s campus.’”
Boyle said because the group is growing, she hopes to keep participating.
“We’ve all grown closer together, but I mean, it’s only the beginning,” Boyle said. “So it should grow some more, and we can meet more people through it. I participated three or four times, so kinda since the beginning of this semester, and I plan to continue it on Wednesdays. I plan to keep it going. I’m also just a freshman, so I can keep it going for the next four years even and keep it growing.”
Boyle said others ask about the wolf shirts every time they wear them.
“We just see it, and it sparks something between all of us,” Boyle said. “I would say it has a big sense of community and growing together, and hopefully, it will get bigger as the weeks and months go by.”
Freshman Amberlee Ellis said she has connected with some people by participating. She said knowing that Taylor was the person who started it makes it better.
“She’s so awesome, so just like joining her and the fun piece of it,” Ellis said. “I feel like a lot of people will be like, ‘Oh! Wolf shirt,’ or they’re like, ‘Hey, this is awesome,’ so I feel like I have met some people [and had] a conversation with them about it.”
Ellis said the wolf shirts are a great conversation starter with others.
“I would say it does have a sense of community,” Ellis said. “And honestly, around campus, there are people who have asked about it, and I feel like we have a sense of friendship in a way just because it’s like a conversation starter. But then the people I’m doing it with are some of my closest friends. Go to Walmart and get a wolf shirt.”
Freshman Kate Burton said she participated in Wolf Shirt Wednesday in her youth group back home.
“I already had the wolf shirt, and I kinda miss it too from back home, so it was a nice little something when Sam started to do it,” Burton said.
Burton said the trend gets noticed on campus.
“If there’s like a group of us, people will come up and be like ‘Wolf shirts? Interesting, why are you wearing this?’ We say ‘Wolf Shirt Wednesday,’” Burton said. “People do ask about it.”