I am so excited for Dillo Day, of course — a free music festival with all my friends when it’s finally nice in Evanston — how could I not be? With that being said, if I hear the word wristband one more time, I am going to scream.

Forget the fact that there is a rule in my sorority that I must wear a wristband to enter and exit the house that I live in. I’m done questioning the shenanigans that occur in the name of the sisterhood. 

There is a much more pressing matter to focus mental energy on: collecting frat wristbands. That’s right. Long gone are the days of showing up and naming five brothers at the door. One must present a wristband. 

How do you get a wristband? Well, it’s not enough to be in just any old sorority, apparently, or I’d have wristbands for days. No, it’s every man for himself, for me and most of my peers. 

That’s probably why all everyone I know is talking about is from whom they’re sourcing their respective wristbands. Everywhere I turn, someone is asking me or someone else what their plan is. “What darties are you planning on going to? Oh, really? How did you get your wristband?” 

I swear, I have almost no social capital, and people are still asking me for help getting into specific frats. I can only imagine what my iPhone notifications would look like right now if I was dating someone in a frat.

I really don’t want to have to text people to ask for wristbands. In general, I loathe the indignity that comes with asking for things. I’m fun at parties, please just let me show up. I have a cute outfit to wear.  

On a fundamental level, I find the culture of needing wristbands to enter spaces that don’t typically require wristbands a little odd. Wristbands are for hotels and clubs and waterparks. See? When you put it that way, it’s kinda weird. 

Maybe they’re being marketed all wrong. If these were status boosting souvenir wristbands, I just might feel less perplexed by their existence and more compelled to gather them. Instead, I think I’m going to just hope I’m at the right place at the right time and things work out so that I can have an excellent time on Saturday. 

But, should anyone reading this be in a position to offer me a highly coveted wristband, I would gladly take it off your hands. And another few for my friends. Like, seven friends tops. And we’re all super cool and chill. Thank you so much, you’re seriously the best. I owe you one. 

Sylvie Slotkin is a Medill sophomore. She can be contacted at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.