Student swap in, out at bi-annual Swap-O-Palooza

A Pitt junior walked out of the William Pitt Union with a pair of elastic-waist,… A Pitt junior walked out of the William Pitt Union with a pair of elastic-waist, white-star-embellished bell-bottoms Thursday.

Michael Berger said that the offbeat pants would mesh well with his orange button-up shirt and blue hat, both outfitted with orange pompoms. Berger nabbed all of these eclectic items at Free the Planet’s Swap-O-Palooza, an event to which students can bring their old, unwanted clothes and pick up some new garb for their wardrobes.

Free the Planet’s co-president, Eva Resnick-Day, said the event, held in the WPU Ballroom, emphasizes the environmental student group’s focus on the “reduce, reuse, recycle” concept.

“You’re doing something good for the environment, and you’re getting a new wardrobe,” she said.

Senior Seth Bush, a Free the Planet member, walked away with a pair of khakis. He said that a large portion of his wardrobe comes from the annual Swap-O-Palooza. In fact, yesterday his whole outfit had been acquired from past Swap-O-Paloozas.

Junior Hannah Radke attended the event with senior Arielle Klein. Both swappers said that, in addition to everyday clothing, they also came to look for free clothing for Halloween. Although they didn’t find sound costume ideas, they did walk away with a number of free items.

Radke left with a number of Pitt T-shirts for her job at Primanti Bros. She also picked up a pair of baggy purple shorts because they were “ridiculous.”

Klein found a pair of black ballet flats with pink butterfly designs, white sneakers and a Jimmy Eat World T-shirt.

She explained the draw of the event.

“We’re college-student poor, so we totally enjoy these things,” Klein said.

In case students found items they weren’t completely satisfied with, Free the Planet provided a decorating table flanked with glitter, markers, yarn and ribbon to allow swappers to tweak their newly acquired clothing.

Resnick-Day said that students can expect another Swap-O-Palooza next semester.