Students covered their books before tech. Now, stickers tell the story.
By Isabel Keane ’19
Sophomore political science major Ellie Bain ’21 studies in the lower level of Milne Library. On her laptop are clusters of stickers — of wooden spoons and a whisk, which show her love of baking. Beside them are images of The Beatles’ “Abbey Road” and Jim Halpert and Dwight Schrute from the TV show “The Office,” boasting that it has been “6 days since our last nonsense.”
“Every one of my friends say that my stickers are a perfect representation of me as a person,” Bain said.
She is surrounded by a room full of students with decorated laptops. In the ’70s and ’80s, students covered their textbooks in paper grocery bags, then used markers to adorn them with names of bands and friends. Stickers on tech have taken over, but the self-expression is the same. Similar interests are also sparks for striking up conversation and making friends.