When walking around school over the past few weeks, have you noticed something different about the facial hair of certain male teachers and students? If so, don’t be alarmed.
These students and faculty are—most likely—taking part in worldwide charity events called No-Shave November and Movember, which require participants to go without shaving in the month of November. Specifically, No-Shave November requires growing a full beard, while Movember involves just a moustache.
The annual events began in 2004 to support men’s health awareness. Each year, the money raised goes toward several different charities that support the driving cause, notably the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the LIVESTRONG Foundation. Upon setting up an account on the official movember website, each participant asks for people to donate money to the cause by reaching out via Facebook, email, and other social media outlets.
On Nov. 1, the participant must be clean-shaven and have no evidence of facial hair. He will then grow out his moustache for the entire month, without shaving. The only shaving allowed is trimming, grooming and waxing.
Last year, English teacher Jesse Bauks organized a group of male teachers at Staples to get involved for the first time, and the crew is back at it this year. According to Bauks, the Staples Movember group raised over $1,500 last year and hopes to double that total this year.
Bauks added that as the month continues and their moustaches get wilder, they get asked wherever they go about why exactly they are wearing a wacky mustache. He noted that once he informed the inquirers about Movember, they then contributed to his account.
Social studies teacher Jon Shepro stressed the importance of men’s health awareness and believes that there is a lack of attention surrounding these issues because men themselves do not educate themselves about these diseases.
Shepro added that he believes his fellow participants in the Staples Movember group effectively set a standard of altruism for their students.
“I think is important for the students to see their teacher do good things for a good cause,” he said. “To have fun with it is even greater.”
In fact, Shepro takes special pride in his moustache: “I’ve given my moustache a lot of thought, as I always do. I don’t go into these things lightly,” he said. “I think that a moustache on a man should be considered from many different angles and then mastered.”
However, the Staples participants in this charity are not just teachers—Mark Schwabacher ’13 is also taking part.
“I’ve always wondered what I would look like with a beard, and I figured Movember would be the best time for me to try it out without getting too much flak from my friends,” he said.
Schwabacher added that he faces objections from his mother, who has told him that she can barely look at him now with his ‘stache. However, he remains determined and looks forward to seeing the beard to the end.
