All my mom wanted was a hat. 

When she visited Fordham for the first time during Family Weekend in October, one of the things she was excited about was visiting the campus bookstore. Like many proud parents of college students, she wanted to don some Fordham parent merch. 

Upon entering the Lincoln Center bookstore, we came across sweatpants, sweatshirts, hats, blankets and T-shirts that read “Fordham University,” but my mom had her mind set on a specific item: a “Fordham Mom” baseball cap.

While we searched for “Fordham Mom” merch, we found a wall filled with “Fordham Dad” caps, mugs and T-shirts of different styles. I remember thinking, “There must be a section for moms too.” We scavenged the store, looking at every rack, shelf and table, but had no luck.

Moms also raise children and pay bills, so why would Fordham discontinue some of its merchandise for moms?

After two laps, we came across only one item in the entire store that said “Fordham Mom”: a T-shirt with dainty cursive writing on it. They couldn’t even give moms the option of having an item with any of Fordham’s standard fonts — there was only cursive, because all women must love cursive writing!

“Wow, I can’t even get a mug,” my mom said, as we stared at the wall of “Fordham Dad” coffee cups. 

As a last resort, we approached a cashier about ordering a cap online, but were stunned to learn that Fordham no longer sold “Fordham Mom” hats. It would be one thing if they were just out of stock, but why stop selling them altogether while continuing to sell ones branded for dads? Moms also raise children and pay bills, so why would Fordham discontinue some of its merchandise for moms?

Some parents said they noticed Fordham’s lack of options for moms because they have other children attending different colleges.

I searched “Fordham Mom hat” online, but it brought me to a page that said “An unexpected error has occurred while displaying this page.” I had no trouble finding the “Fordham Dad” hat online, though, along with mugs for moms, dads and grandmas. Interestingly, the bookstore website also sells a “Fordham Grandma” sweater, but it is labeled as a men’s pullover.

I know I am not the only student with a single mother attending Fordham Lincoln Center, and seeing the look on my mom’s face as she had to stare at a wall of exclusive merchandise was heartbreaking. At a very basic level, there should be an equal amount of things for moms to purchase as well as dads. Leaving one of the two out is sending an inherently sexist message to students and parents alike.

My mom is part of the “Parents of Fordham University Students” Facebook group, and I asked her to post on it to see if anyone had noticed the difference in merchandise availability and design variation among products for mothers and fathers. The responses she received were overwhelming.

One Fordham mother wrote, “I noticed the difference during family weekend and had to customize a shirt because I was unable to find one I wanted to wear that weekend. Ended up having ‘mom’ monogrammed on a basic Fordham long sleeve shirt for my next trip.”

Some parents said they noticed Fordham’s lack of options for moms because they have other children attending different colleges, such as Drexel University and Texas A&M University, where they have not had issues buying mom merch. Another mother said, “My other daughter attends (Texas) A&M, where there are multiple stores devoted to the merchandising of the school, so coming to Fordham to buy some spirit wear was surprisingly disappointing.”

One mom also commented about the discrepancies in sizing, adding, “I notice it every time I come to the store! And never ever (the) right sizes. My son had to buy an XL sweatshirt for my daughter.”

Some moms raised us on their own, helped us apply to college and, yes, shop at Fordham campus bookstores. It is unacceptable that they would have to resort to monogramming “mom” onto standard Fordham University merchandise because of the lack of options. 

There should be an equal amount of items for both moms and dads, or Fordham should consider selling items with just “Fordham Parent” on it so everyone is always included. But the sexist exclusion of our moms in the bookstores must stop