From the senior campout to Mr. Longhorn, many traditions define senior year. Worn at Powderpuff, football games, spirit days and other school events, senior jerseys are another long standing tradition. Having remained virtually the same since their inception, this year’s designer, senior Caroline Judd, initiated the switch by pitching the idea to remove the gender marker.

Historically, excluding the class of 2017, senior jerseys have been embossed with “senior men” for males and “senior women” for females. 

“I wanted it to be different than the other designs because they look very similar every year,” Judd said. “There are some people who really like that we’re separated into senior men and senior women, which I understand, but that doesn’t mean that it should take precedence over the reason we aren’t differentiating the genders this year. There are some kids in our grade that don’t identify as male or female, so to be respectful, please everyone and make those students feel included, we made one that doesn’t say a gender.”

Removing the gender marker not only allows the jersey to be more inclusive but also less expensive. 

“It helps reduce the cost because the jerseys are ordered as one bulk order rather than as two. It was an executive decision by the administrators, [athletic director Brian] Kessler and me to leave out the gender,” Judd said. 

Though Kessler only facilitates the ordering of the jerseys, he advises the class to take the most cost-friendly design.

“I’m just facilitating the actual order, and while I think $50 is way too much, it’s not my shirt,” Kessler said.  “To me, at the end of the day, you are all seniors, and whether it says men or women, I don’t care, but what I do know is that we can’t do multiple designs because that makes the price even higher.”

Judd is excited about the new design and hopes that it helps to create unity among her class.

“People may be upset because we’re not sticking with traditions,” Judd said. “But kindness and inclusiveness should always be the top priority, even if it means changing traditions.”