No-Shave November: A hairy affair

The scruffiest month of the year has arrived in all its bearded glory: No-Shave November is in full swing on campus. This social phenomenon has swept college campuses across the nation and the world, leading to a distinctly hairier student population here at Luther and contributing to raising awareness of testicular and prostate cancer.

No-Shave November, known by some as Novembeard, traditionally challenges men to shave at the start of November and not shave, trim or groom their facial hair until the end of the month.

Reasons for participating in the movement vary as much as the beards being grown. Some participants do it purely for fun, while others, such as Joe Thor (‘12), do it for the warmth.

“I’m just preparing for winter,” Thor said.

Many also mentioned the convenience of not shaving as a positive aspect to the month.

“It’s a good excuse to be lazy,” Thor said.

The fraternal aspects of beards were also cited as reasons to participate.

“It’s a celebration of beard and hair joy,” Quincy Voris (‘12) said. “It’s a commitment to a common goal.”

Gary Danciu (‘10) agreed.

“It’s camaraderie among us men,” he said.

In addition, others have enjoyed noticing their fellow bearded men on campus.

“It’s nice to see other people who look homeless,” Thor said.

Yet underlying these unifying feelings, most men, like past competitor Seth Duin (‘12), agree it is, in part, a competition.

“It is a competition, behind the scenes,” Duin said. “Everyone is like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve got to have the best beard.’”

Participants enjoy seeing their competitors around campus.

“It’s fun to watch the guys who can’t grow their beard out,” Danciu said. “It’s funny to see the guys whose hair grows in little patches.”

People participate in different ways: some do the traditional shave at the beginning of the month, while others keep what they already have and continue growing it out.

Many residence hall floors, such as Ylvisaker first floor, are participating together. Participants are photographed every week, and the pictures are displayed on a bulletin board in the center lounge to document the growth progress.

Another approach to the month can be seen in the Movember movement, an Australian-based charity movement that encourages men to grow out their mustaches during November.Jake Wessels (‘11), a resident assistant on Ylvisaker third floor, is participating in this branch of No Shave November with his residents.

“The point of Movember is to raise money for testicular and prostate cancer,” Wessels said. “This is kind of the male version of the pink movement for breast cancer, except with mustaches. It’s a funny but real way to get people talking about these issues.”

The word “mo” is slang for mustache in Australia, where the movement started in 2003. Participants are encouraged to form teams and get pledges and donations as they grow their mustaches. The motto is “Together, we’re changing the face of men’s health,” though Wessels also mentioned the unofficial motto: “Grow a mustache, kick cancer in the face.”

Wessels said that while this year’s Movember is mostly for fun, he has bigger plans for next year.

“I didn’t find out about this until a few weeks beforehand, so I couldn’t really go all out,” Wessels said. “But ideally, I’d have all Luther join a Movember team. That‘s the plan for next year.”

A bonus to being part of a legitimate organization, Wessels added, is the access to free merchandise regarding Movember.

“At the end of the month, for the Mo-party, they’ll send a Man of Movember sash,” Wessels said. “I think they also give out some clippers and legit stuff like that.”

One thing that many participants in No-Shave November and Movember mentioned as a drawback for the month was the reaction of their significant others to their increased facial hair.

“Everyone’s always enjoyed my beard, except my girlfriend,” Danciu said. “My girlfriend hates it.”

Voris noted this as well.

“Girls tend not to like the beard,” Voris said.

Yet, after considering a moment, Voris added this tidbit.

“There are those rare few who love beards,” Voris said. “Those are keepers.”

Whether helping out a cause or participating for fun, No-Shave November is sure to produce some hairy results.