New Waves, New Hats: SGA’s Fashion Forward Initiative

To kick off the new academic year for the incoming class of 2028, the Student Government Association (SGA) treated the new Waves to customized trucker hats at the NSO Block Party on Aug. 16.

The celebration, located in Mullin Town Square, was a closing to the long, yet exciting celebration of NSO Week. Multiple campus organizations tabled, such as Community Engagement and Service and RISE. The students were able to socialize with each other, and the event was complete with Irv’s Burgers and Prince Street Pizza, two Malibu classics.

“…I know a lot of these students are taking a great leap of faith to even come here, I’m just proud of them and excited for them,” senior and NSO leader Amelia Monroe said. “I know they’re going to do great and they’re going to meet so many people and really immerse themselves into what Pepperdine offers.”

The DIY trucker hat booth is a product of SGA’s new initiative to introduce new and trendy designs for the Pepperdine bookstore, SGA President Myers Mentzer said.

“This was a really great way to see if students are attracted to new designs for our bookstore, what designs they like, and how they are gonna show their Pepperdine pride through the merchandise that they’re wearing,” Mentzer said.

The booth was decked with four blank trucker hats: a beige color, navy blue, black and royal blue. Once the students picked a hat, they would pick one of the four colorful patches. Each patch contained a unique icon for Pepperdine or Malibu.

First-year Robert Beinke shared his liking of the customized fashion.

“It’s pretty cool,” Beinke said. “You get to walk away with a nice piece of Pepperdine merch.”

First-year Harrison Roy Prowell also provided his honest opinion of the patches.

“The patches… it’s hit or miss,” Prowell said. “Because the white one’s cool because it kind of has that Y2K vibe. The skull is cool because it kind of has that grunge look, but the rest kind of look like dad vibes.”

However, this was not the general consensus for the whole first-year student body. When asked about the colorways of current Pepperdine merch, many first-years shared their dislike.

“I don’t know how huge I am on the orange and blue, I guess it’s the school colors, but it’s a bit out there for me,” first-year Holden Algee said. “So these ones are a lot more subtle, which is why I like the hats more.”

First-year Annelise Cables shared a similar opinion on the bright orange and blue.

“I would maybe include some lighter oranges,” Cables said. “Something maybe a little less aggressive and just more like softer t-shirts.”

The Pepperdine bookstore contains a large selection of merchandise, such as sweatshirts, polos, sweatpants and more. When asked about the variety of choices, first-years Alex Moujaes and Jackson Kimmins gave high praises.

Kimmins agreed by contrasting his experience with other universities.

“I think it’s [the merch in the bookstore] really nice,” Kimmins said. “I’ve visited a few schools, and Pepperdine by far has the best stuff, the most wide variety of things.”

Even though the first-years have just stepped foot in Malibu, they already had ideas to update the merchandise in the bookstore.

“We should have students make it [the merch],” Prowell said. “We should have a creative team of people who want to design clothes, and if they make the merch, probably sell a lot more.”

More seasoned students also shared their observations of Pepperdine merch during their time as a Wave.

“The power of utilizing vintage is also coming back. I would buy anything that’s a vintage T-shirt with a Pepperdine design on it,” senior Connor Housefield said. “Just find some old, nice materials.”

This fun fashion event was only the beginning of new advancements for the Class of 2028. SGA will continue introducing new, and improving existing, initiatives and programs for the new Waves, Mentzer said.

“We really want to represent them to just show that we’re excited for them to be here, and there’s a lot of new things that they will see in their Pepperdine time, that a lot of us won’t,” Mentzer said. “… We just want to make sure that we’re leading a legacy of impact on them.”

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Contact Shalom Montgomery via email: shalom.montgomery@pepperdine.edu