After transforming the vacant concession stand into a fully-fledged store in the 2025 spring semester, Touchdown Thrift continues its legacy as a collaboration between the ECON 201 course, Oxy Ecossentials and the Office of Sustainability.
Jesse Principe (junior), a co-founder of Touchdown, said the store struggled to become universally recognized on campus last semester, but it is now an integral part of student life.
“It was really great to have the freshman class come in and us already be on campus for them,” Principe said. “They don’t know an Occidental without Touchdown.”
According to professor Bevin Ashenmiller, who teaches ECON 201, sales during the fall opening drew more students into the store.
“So many people became aware of the thrift at the move-in sale,” Ashenmiller said. “In four years, everybody will have had a move-in sale, and everyone will think that the thrift has existed forever.”
Touchdown Thrift co-founder Jade Crichlow (junior) said the store has developed a more organized system over time.
“There’s a lot of stuff,” Crichlow said. “Last year there was a lot of stuff, but we didn’t have a system to keep it rotating. Now we do.”
Stella Cammack (junior), another co-founder, said that the store has upgraded by opening up its interior and adding new clothing racks.
“It’s been helpful to have people be able to come in and to have the clothes inside,” Cammack said. “Now that we have the space, clothes are our main focus throughout the year.”
Principe said the new clothing racks have improved accessibility, which has also increased sales and the need for donations.
“We’re working on reaching out to both the Oxy community and the greater Eagle Rock community to get donations to keep a fresh inventory,” Principe said.
According to Principe, Touchdown has also expanded beyond tangible inventory, and they now have recycling programs for vapes, cigarette butts, pens and pencils.
“We’re trying to help continue the lifespan of those materials,” Principe said. “It’s another way that we can mitigate the unsellable inventory. It’s also an open resource for the community to recycle their things.”
Cammack said that Touchdown also hosts workshops to provide the community with skills to practice sustainability.
“Our first one was a patchmaking workshop, which was really successful,” Cammack said. “A lot of people showed up and learned some new skills. It was just a lot of fun.”
According to Ashenmiller, there is an emphasis on collaboration with both on- and off-campus organizations.
“If students have ideas and innovations, we can figure out how to do them,” Ashemiller said. “My vision for the thrift is that it shouldn’t be my vision. It should be the vision of the students.”
Crichlow said she sees Touchdown as a third space for both clubs and the community.
“Oxy clubs can come here and have a club meeting, or they can have a collab or a craft event,” Crichlow said. “For our community partners, this is also a space for them.”
Principe said that Touchdown is starting a special deal for donations on Saturdays.
“If you donate on Saturdays you’ll receive a coupon for 10% off a purchase,” Principe said. “We’re trying to incentivize people to donate more and to get more people in the store on Saturdays.”
According to Cammack, the store is also growing its online presence with an Instagram account.
“We hope to do more on Instagram, but we also need more people interested in social media and marketing to be a part of the team,” Cammack said.
Principe said that three of the four co-founders are going abroad next semester, and they want to leave the store in good hands.
“We have such a great base of volunteers right now, but we want to make sure that it’s a surplus,” Principe said.
Ashenmiller said student involvement and collaboration between the three initiatives is crucial to the existence of Touchdown.
“Without student leadership, it wouldn’t exist. It’s like a stool that has three legs. Without any of us, we couldn’t operate,” Ashenmiller said.
Cammack said she encourages anyone interested in engaging with Touchdown Thrift to reach out.
“We want the thrift to continue on for many years, and that’s only possible if people are here to do that,” Cammack said.
Contact Amelia Gehlhaus at gehlhaus@oxy.edu
