BSC employee’s ‘Whisker Wednesday’ tradition creates smiles, conversations on campus
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) - Wednesday has long been known as ‘hump day’ because it’s the middle of the work week and most people have already worked two days, and are starting to look forward to the weekend.
For one Bismarck State College employee, ‘hump day’ has become ‘Whisker Wednesday.’
It’s a chance to share her vast collection of cat clothes and connect with students.
“It’s a cat eating ramen,” said Amanda Morse, showing off her new cat sweatshirt. “It’s so fun. It’s different. And it’s everything I love: I love food and I love cats.”
This is the latest in Morse’s collection of cat clothing.
“I have cat t-shirts. I have cat tank tops. I’ve got a couple cat sweatshirts. I have cat pajama pants,” she said.
And every Wednesday, Morse wears a different cat shirt. She calls it “Whisker Wednesday.” Morse has been celebrating “Whisker Wednesday” for more than a decade. It all started when she was working summers at Camp Metigoshe.
“I love animals, and I love small things that bring me joy and hopefully other people joy,” said Morse.
She brought the tradition with her when she started as residence hall coordinator at BSC. And now, it’s something she and students look forward to every week.
“We look forward to it because it’s always something pretty silly, pretty out there,” said BSC freshman Morgen Fischer.
“I wanted something to spread joy at least once a week,” said Morse.
Morse says her cat shirts have served another purpose too. She says they’re a conversation starter.
“It’s like, ‘Hey, I really like your shirt.’ And I say, ‘Oh, thanks, it’s Whisker Wednesday,’” she said. “It’s nice to know that there are people out there that love cats as much as I do.”
Often those conversations go beyond Morse’s wardrobe and love for cats.
“It’s kind of like a segway conversation to get to know someone, which seems a little bit silly, but if you can have a starting point for a conversation and then kind of twist it to get into the nitty gritty of things, you can really get to know a person by just a simple conversation about a cat shirt,” she said.
Conversations and relationships that often extend beyond “Whisker Wednesday.”
Morse admits, even though she’s got a closet full of cat shirts, she really only wears about seven or eight of them on a regular basis.
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