There’s only three weeks left of the semester. Time to freak out. Finals are coming up, Hurricane Sandy prevented a week of valuable lessons, and the hell that’s registration and housing lotteries are happening simultaneously. On top of all of these stress inducers, men still have to shave.
But, not this month; during November, men can forget the razor and scratch shaving off their to-do list. It’s “No Shave November,” a time when men can display their inner grizzly Adams and embrace meat-eatin’, beer-drinkin’, football watchin’ manliness by sporting a furry face for the entire month.
“No Shave November,” also know as “NoShember” or “Movember” (‘Mo’ meaning mustache), is a movement to raise awareness and money for organizations that benefit multiple sclerosis, prostate and testicular cancer research. Participants and supporters can donate money by logging on to the official Movember website, us.movember.com.
Sometimes, it isn’t just the cause that encourages men to avoid a razor, but simply the look and feel of growing facial hair.
“I like growing a beard, and it seems like a fun event to do” Andrew Wells, a junior advertising major from Plain View, N.Y., said. “It makes me feel manly.”
Others, like Travis Robinson, feel that facial hair isn’t just a movement, but a lifestyle.
“No shave November is really just another month for me because I live a no-shave lifestyle,” Robinson, a junior occupational therapy major from Coventry, R.I., said. “I just consider November to be the month where I am obligated to keep any sharp objects away from my face. I find that the positives of wearing a beard outweigh the negatives, so why would I shave such a beautiful thing?”
Some men aren’t as enthusiastic about growing out their whiskers, however. Doug Cassiano, a senior from Chatham Conn., was forced to grow out the stubble.
“My roommates do it every year and they finally talked me into doing it,” Cassiano said. “I’m not really excited about it. My girlfriend is not happy about it, but I feel like it needs to be done. We need to get that burly beard in order to feel warm.”
For Cassiano, growing a beard was a very trying time.
“It is very difficult because it comes in and it looks very dirty and patchy, I also have a weird beard where parts of it are red and other parts are black,” Cassiano said. “I get more of neck-beard than anything, so it’s rough. It hurts me to look in the mirror.”
For women unlike Cassiano’s girlfriend, “No Shave November” is prime pickings season for burly male suitors.
Brittany O’Connell, a junior from Hebron, Conn., likes beards because of the message behind it, and because it reminds her of puppies.
“I’m okay with it because I like furry things, like dogs and men with furry faces,” O’Connell said. “I think it adds character, and if they do it for a cause, it’s even more attractive because it means that they are willing to change their body to contribute to something bigger than themselves.”
Despite the message behind the mo’, some women just enjoy the individuality that reflects facial hair.
“It’s a nice change from the norm” sophomore Shayna Rothschild from Wayland, Mass., said.
“It’s also really cool to see what kind of choices people make with their hair. Are they gonna grow a moustache? A chin strap? A full beard? It’s very brave.” Rothschild said.
So, for the month of Noshember, keep calm and stay furry.
