In a colorful show of creativity and campus spirit, Rice University’s 11 residential colleges have come together to create a unified O-Week T-shirt design — a collaboration that reflects both school pride and the strength of Rice’s student communities.
While student-designed spirit shirts have long been a tradition during O-Week — particularly for Rice Rally, the annual pep rally that celebrates new student-athletes and blends college and university pride — this marks the first time such a design will be prominently featured during move-in day, where each residential college warmly welcomes its new students with open arms. Supported by the Office of Student Success Initiatives’ First Year Programs and Rice Public Affairs, the initiative gives visual form to the welcoming spirit the university is known for.
“The idea isn’t to take away from college pride — that’s a huge part of Rice — but to show that there’s also Rice pride,” said Tamara Davis, assistant director of First Year Programs. “With this shirt, we’re creating a sense of unity while still celebrating where each student comes from.”
That unity is woven into the design itself, which was hand-drawn by Jasmine Klinkao, a Brown College senior and one of 33 O-Week coordinators. The back of the shirt features a group of owls — one for each residential college — with visual elements that reflect each college’s unique O-Week theme. From Brown’s “ChocO-Week” and Jones’s “UFO-Week” to Martel’s “TechnO-Week,” the playful nods to college culture are subtle but intentional.
“I didn’t want to just include college crests,” Klinkao said. “I wanted the shirt to be this O-Week, this year — something unique students can look back on and say, ‘That was our time.’”
Klinkao collaborated closely with fellow coordinators from every college, incorporating their ideas, sketches and feedback to give the design a more campuswide appeal.
“It was definitely a team effort,” she said. “I’d show them drafts and ask, ‘Does this fit your college’s vibe?’ And we’d go from there.”
Even Wiess College, which traditionally doesn’t adopt a specific O-Week theme, is reflected in the design with a nod to its “Wiess and Easy” spirit. “It was important to me that every college was represented,” Klinkao said. “The owls show that we’re all Rice Owls, but we each come from different nests. That’s what makes this place special.”
“This is something that’s always been unified behind the scenes — now it’s just being shown in a more visible way,” said Ahjah Green, assistant director of First Year Programs. “Our O-Week coordinators already work together to welcome every new student, regardless of college. Now we’re putting something tangible to the unity that already exists.”
The shirts — blue, naturally — were be worn by upperclassmen advisers on move-in day and by new students at the President’s Welcome the following day, creating an early and visible moment of shared identity across campus.
“They will still wear their individual college shirts throughout the week,” Davis said, “but this shared design is a powerful way to say, ‘We’re all in this together.’”
Be sure to check out the photos from O-Week by clicking here. Students might find themselves, new friends or special moments captured by their colleges.