And not everyone chooses their hats. Some caps are gifts and are worn out of obligation.
"My girlfriend gave this to me," says O'Brien, wearing a "Big Island Ski Co-Hawaii" caps because of what he called a "bad hair day."
The baseball cap can also signify a method of hero worship.
"Shaq, man, it's the Shaq," says Daniel S. M. Kwon foot, 1-inch rookie basketball players Shaquille O'Neal. "That's all there is to say."
Jason N. J. Tavano '94 works with his rommate, Shawn E. Fibkins '94, at the front desk of the Malkin Athletic Center. So he sees a lot of caps.
"I think after a while, a hat become an extension of your character," says Tavano.
And Fibkins believes your baseball cap tells a lot about attitude. "There's definitely a look with hats-a real ratty hat," he says. "A lot of guys wear that hat to show they don't care how they look."
A Gender Issue?
While many Harvard men favor has, few female students were baseball caps. And many women who do choose to don their hats backwards-ostensibly to keep the hair out of their eyes.
"I was just at boxing, and I needed to hold the hair back from my face," says Christine M. Hinkley '93, as she sits down to dinner at the Kirkland House Dining Hall. "There are a fair amount of women who will were a baseball cap to keep the hair out of their face."
Hinkley say she won't speculate why men seem more attached to the hat as a vehicle of self-expression than women.
"I'd hate to speculate," says Hinkley, who wears a white Harvard sailing hat backwards. "For women, your hair has to be at a particular length. If it's too long, you can wear a pony tail. If it's shorter, you don't need the hat."
Men interviewed also see the use of caps as a hair issue and not a gender issue.
"When you have long hair, it doesn't go crazy," says Eric S. O'Brien '93. "[Women] don't need the hat."
'I keep getting bad haircuts-horrendous haircuts. I have a permanent hat head now.' David S. Franklin '96
'There's definitely a look with hats--a real ratty hat. A lot of guys wear that hat to show they don't care how they look.' Shawn E. Fibkins '94