Sheet music, Ray-Bans and ankle weights: Inside SU students’ school bags
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On Jesse Nunan’s walk to and from class, she sometimes questions what people with tiny backpacks could possibly be carrying. It’s quite the downsize compared to her large, sagging Trader Joe’s tote.
“I really load up this bag to the point where it’s hurting my shoulder a little bit,” Nunan, a Syracuse University fine arts senior, said. “I wonder if people do the same or if it’s just that I can’t keep track of my stuff.”
While size, shape and style may differ and contents are often unknown to passersby, almost every SU student carries a bag to class. Some contain the bare necessities, others have everything from a midday snack to a change of clothes — all to ensure a trip back to their dorm or apartment won’t be needed.
Sophomore musical theater major Emma Andrews represents the latter.
Contributing largely to the weight of Andrews’ “massive” Free People Emerson Tote Bag are her MacBook, dance shoes and, most importantly, a music binder. Andrews’ binder is something she can never leave the house without, which has stayed true since she was 10-years-old. It’s stuffed to the brim with sheet music she can give to pianists if she needs to sing impromptu.
Andrews said her tote is the “quintessential musical theater bag.” While she may seem overprepared to a business or humanities student, her classes require certain items, which explains the volume of her bag contents, Andrews said.
A lace-embroidered leotard, tights, LaDuca boots and ballet slippers are required for Andrews’ dance class every day. Her folder of scripts is there to look over when rehearsing plays and monologues. Before a day of singing, her Grether’s Pastilles — Broadway performer-approved cough drops — are a “niche pull” that soothes her throat.
Andrews said while every musical theater student carries similar items, they’re all specifically tailored to the individual, which means lending things back and forth can get complicated.
“You can borrow someone’s calculator, but you can’t borrow someone else’s shoes,” Andrews said. “It’s also such bad looks.”
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Junior Connor Merrigan is an example of the aforementioned business student. In his Patagonia knapsack are primarily the essentials: his Ray-Ban sunglasses, six Ticonderoga #2 pencils (which he’s loaned to classmates many times), a five-subject notebook for his five classes, Apple AirPods and his laptop.
At the bottom of the bag are loose papers — a crumpled class syllabus, two printed New York Times articles and his name tag written in bright pink highlighter. Merrigan said he’s probably the archetype of an SU finance major, except he’s missing a calculator.
Merrigan is part of the cohort of students that have largely moved past physical supplies for class, like textbooks, he said.
“I could probably get by going to class with only my laptop every day,” Merrigan said.
However, Merrigan said he still enjoys taking handwritten notes and brings a copy of “Poor Charlie’s Almanac” to browse when he can. Even if it doesn’t get read as often as he’d like, it’s a consistent component of his bag.
Other SU students, like musical theater sophomore Maximo Paniagua, change their bag contents almost every day. On a lighter day, Paniagua’s black Prada bag is filled with his music book, a granola bar, the script for “Rent” and ankle weights. As a musical theater major, it’s important to be prepared and take care of yourself, he said.
But it doesn’t have to mean sacrificing his style. Over the summer, he bought his black patent leather Prada bag that he now uses as a school tote. Inside are a pair of black Prada sunglasses. His Prada sunglasses and bag coordinate his put-together “expensive taste.”
“I have a very specific aesthetic,” Paniagua said. “This bag is very me.”
Strapped with a black Prada leather bag, sophomore Maximo Paniagua carries his music book, granola bar and a script of “Rent.” Paniagua’s self-described “expensive taste” is illustrated by his bag and sunglasses. Claire Zhang | Social Media Editor
Similar to Paniagua, Nunan’s also a fan of a worn leather bag with metal detailing, but when it comes to packing the materials she needs for her art studio classes, she said it’s simply impractical. Instead, she favors her canvas Trader Joe’s tote, which holds her devices, sunglasses and sketchbook covered in stickers. There’s also a box set of nails and dog poop bags, among other items.
As a husky owner and busy art student who frequents her Shaffer Art Building studio, Nunan said her bag is both representative of her and convenient.
“I kind of destroy the inside. It’s good to have something durable,” Nunan said. “Plus, it’s covered in dog hair.”
Most of Nunan’s items are to help her stay prepared, but one in particular is meant to stir conversation. In a green envelope are postcards of her paintings she printed herself. They’re part of Meriwether Print Club, a subscription service where she sends out two postcards of her work a month. When she encounters new people, Nunan said she makes sure to give them one.
“I’m really big on talking to strangers, and so it tends to come up more than you would think,” Nunan said. “This is a fun way of doing that.”
Some students like Nunan suffer shoulder pain from carrying a heavy tote bag, while others like Merrigan have stayed loyal to the traditional backpack for that very reason. But choices often evolve over school years. When Nunan was a freshman, she used to cram her backpack full of paint and projects even when she didn’t have a studio.
Merrigan’s devotion to his Patagonia (he’s had it for over 7 years) doesn’t mean his bag-packing habits have stayed the same. Over the years, he’s cut back on the number of items he brings.
“Freshman year, backpack to body ratio was suboptimal,” Merrigan said. “Now it’s a little more condensed.”
While students like Paniagua “use and abuse” everything they pack for the day, others like Merrigan and Nunan may forget about certain items. Nunan used to carry dried mango slices as a snack throughout the day, but when she didn’t eat it, her husky Louie figured out how to open the packages himself.
Andrews said she thinks nearly everyone on campus packs a laptop in their bag, but depending on the major, some students might have rarer items. Whether it’s seeing someone walk the Promenade in a bag he wants or noticing a cute bag charm, Paniagua said he now wonders what people might be taking around campus, just as they might be wondering that of him.
“You never really know with people, huh?” he said. “I don’t think people would expect tights, a dance belt and ankle weights in a Prada bag.”
