When UK students go to a football or basketball game, there is only one choice of color: that familiar, trustworthy Kentucky blue. So, why is it that when we get ready for class, some of us choose a Louisville red t-shirt or a North Carolina blue hat?

As someone who is from a UK-rooting family, it is an egregious sin to even think to wear a rival’s shirt. So, when I finally came to UK, I was excited to celebrate a united school spirit. It did not take long for me to become appalled.

I moved into my freshman dorm room in August 2015— about four months after UK’s men’s basketball team lost to Wisconsin in the Final Four. The game left a bitter taste in many Wildcat fans’ mouths. In one of my first hall meetings, a woman who lived on my floor wore a Wisconsin shirt. I know, I couldn’t believe it either.

Wearing another college’s gear seems like you are against the rest of your peers. With the number of shirts UK students accumulate through Student Activities Board events, K Weeks, sporting events and more, surely, we all own Kentucky blue.

Anastasia Gliatis, a UK alumna and now graduate student at Southern Illinois University, said in a Facebook comment that she did not understand wearing an opposing school shirt either until she graduated. At SIU, she reps UK shirts frequently because they make up half of her closet. Gliatis also pointed out that some students wear shirts of colleges where their friends or significant other attend. Students who transfer also may wear their previous school shirts.

The key of Gilatis’ comment though is that she supports Kentucky and that is why she wears and owns those shirts. With that logic though, anyone who wears a Duke Blue Devils shirt on campus supports the Devils in some way.

This is not to say that all UK students should be barred from wearing a rival school’s logo. Everyone is entitled to freedom of choice. However, before wearing it, think about the message you will send to the rest of your peers: “Yes, I go to UK, but this university is better in some aspect.”

By wearing your own team’s gear, you are supporting the team. By wearing another team’s gear, you are against it.