The Collaborative Campus Project

Friday, July 16^th

Upon reading that title you either thought, “Yeah, I got swag,” or, “What the heck is swag?”

• The rudimentary meaning for some is that it stands for “Stuff We All Get.”
• Yet, it also means merchandise.
• What swag means to the Campus District is our personal style, our essence.

Some of the concepts for t-shirt design (Photo by Norman Duenas)

One specialized task group that has emerged is the SWAG Team.  The coordinators have really been diligent about keeping the students engaged in projects that are clearly not busy work but valuable contributions to our solution. All the reflections and identity activities served a purpose: they revealed the students’ interests and skills to the coordinators.  Now, the students can do “work” tasks that are geared around their interests, which is one secret to student productivity and achievement.

Tyrone and Lori have been brainstorming what kinds of community events and festivals can draw in the district’s youth.  Q, Brian, and Willie are channeling their passion for sports and recreation toward researching different kinds of amenities, programs, or centers our solution can incorporate.

One team I would like to showcase is the SWAG Team.  I think I witnessed the inceptive moment of what metamorphosed into the team: Mari, between engrossing conversations about design, plopped down a paper of rough logos Stacey had sketched onto Dasha’s table, and uttered, “Dasha I want you to design T-shirts.”  As Mari turned away, Dasha mildly protested, “But I’m only one person.”

By the end of the day, Dasha, Chantel, and Destiny—with Marcus as their design mentor and on-task motivator—were putting all of their fashion sense, style, and creativity into making T-shirt designs.  Concurrently, Mackenzie has been nudging Jasmean to answer questions and do a little research about: Where do you buy swag? Where do other people buy it? Where do a bunch of people hang out? Where can we promote/ sell our stuff in the Campus District?

They’ve been absorbed in this project for a couple days now, and Dasha stood during today’s weekly presentation to read the SWAG Team’s report.

But swag is not just T-shirts.  The concept actually came up when we were brainstorming words to describe our Campus District vision at the end of week two.  Our students had to instruct lead coordinator Stacey how to spell it—swagga’—on the board.

In terms of swag as merchandise, we’ll design and sell products to promote a Campus District collective identity, to publicize the Collaborative Campus Project, and to get more community members involved in the positive development.   Looking beyond just T-shirts, we might produce tank tops, hats, eco-bags, silly bands (those colorful bracelets you’ve noticed every youth wearing), umbrellas, coffee mugs, etc.

Referencing urbandictionary.com, swag is merchandise, appearance, and style, but it’s also “the way people carry or present themselves.”  Accordingly, our SWAG Team is thinking about much more than merchandise.

They’re talking about a Swag Fest.

Marcus was excited to let me in on some of their ideas.  A Swag Fest would invite different groups—groups with swagga’—to attend the festival and showcase their swag through dance, fashion, visual arts, poetry, whatever.  I hear that some social cliques already call themselves names like “Swagalicious” and “Swagtastic.”

THIS is something the students are excited about.  THIS is the reason our project group comprises a group of professional designers and high school student residents, coalesced into a collaborative team: so that Marcus can guide the girls in the design process, and they can in turn clue him in about local youth swag, and, more importantly, reassure him that he’s got swagga’ because he eats vegetables (ha! See? It’s not just about your clothing style.)

And THIS is why our project is unique and will transform the district in a positive way that absolutely fits and involves the current residents and the personality of the neighborhood.

-Alex, Day 24