On Nov. 16, Sophomore Michael Matos quieted a group of young men in the lobby of Brown Hall.
Matos was there with an unshaven face to hand out razors to “No-Shave November” participants.
“We (Brown Hall) did a program where people didn’t shave and we gave out razors,” Matos said.
There was approximately 20 people dedicated to not shaving throughout most of the month of November said Matos. Out of these participants, all but one were men.
Emily Zimmerman, freshman, said when she heard Brown Hall was making an event out of “No-Shave November,” she asked Matos if girls could participate.
“I was the only girl,” she said. “I wanted to be different.”
This is not the only time Zimmerman has participated in the “no-shave” tradition.
“I tried to do it last year but only made it about a week,” she said.
Zimmerman said when she set out to join the competition at the beginning of November she agreed she would shave everything besides her legs.
She encourages more girls to participate in “No-Shave November” and represent the fact that females can do it as well.
Some students participate in the “No-Shave November” activities for other reasons besides prizes however. Senior Casey Weider, said the football team uses the month of November to bond as a team by not shaving.
“We did is at a football team bonding activity since the last 3 years we have been in the play-off contention,” he said. “We call it the “play-off beard.”
Weider himself however did not finish out the month of November before shaving off his beard.
“I’m superstitious,” he said.
Weider decided to make the razor his friend after he had a bad game against Bethany College.
“After I shaved, I broke the school record for field goals,” he said. “We won the game as well.”
The winner of the Brown Hall “No-Shave November” contest was freshman, Chris Hohman. He found out the hard way a beard is not what he is accustomed to.
“I found out I grow red hair,” he said.
Hohman said he did not shave for seventeen days. Before then, he said the longest he had gone without shaving was 3 days.
This was Hohman’s first year participating in “No-Shave November.”
“I did it for the thrill of the competition,” he said.
He said he would definitely encourage others to participate in not shaving throughout the month of November.
“It is a lot of fun,” he said.
Matos said he has been a participant of “No-Shave November” since his senior year in High School.
“It started as a funny thing that turned into a serious competition,” he said.
This year, Matos stopped shaving on Halloween night to prepare for the contest.
“You gotta start out baby-fresh.” he said.