Swag Thursday generally consists of three rituals: a snazzy outfit, an updated Facebook status and a photo session. On Thursday, a new ingredient was added: smoothies.

The Loft, located on the third floor of the Anderson Student Center, collaborated with senior Muhdi Sharif to create a “Swag Smoothie.” The smoothies were inspired by Sharif’s Swag Thursday, a weekly practice he coined that encourages students to dress up.

Operations Manager of Dining Services Gayle Lamb said the idea of working with Sharif was brought up during a conversation she had with his friends.

“They offered up that he is very well connected through Facebook,” Lamb said. “And I thought ‘Hm … maybe we can leverage his contact information and have a meet Muhdi at The Loft Smoothie.’”

Sharif said he was thrilled about the idea.

“If it’s all about enhancing a business, or helping a community out, I’m all for it,” Sharif said.

This is the first time The Loft has collaborated with a student to help increase profit.

“It’s a brilliant idea. What better way to market to students then actually having a student?” Sharif said.

The Loft has struggled to garner student business because of its location.

“Some days it sells a lot, some days it doesn’t, so we keep trying new things,” Lamb said.

Marketing Professor James Heyman said he supports the idea of a student helping advertise the Loft.

“I love the idea. It’s a great thing to do,” Heyman said. “If there is someone on campus that is having trouble with a marketing problem … it’s kind of nice for them to seek help from a marketing student.”

Sharif believes more on-campus businesses should seek student help in advertising.

“I think it’s a wonderful idea for other businesses to go this route in order for them to market their products or whatever they need,” Sharif said. “What’s great is there is no higher faculty involved in this, it’s simply students speaking to students.”

Although Sharif is proud about his creation Swag Thursday helping promote The Loft, he does not want students to forget about the ritual’s main purpose.

“The reason why I dress up and I encourage people to dress up is because it’s a conversation starter,” Sharif said. “If you’re walking by and a stranger says ‘nice bowtie,’ that’s a way of starting on conversation, that’s a way of putting a smile on someone’s face.”

Eden Checkol can be reached at chec7168@stthomas.edu.