Jason Boxer
Opinion Editor
There are few fashion statements in the world that can boast the same masculine qualities as a fully grown, burly beard. For the month of November, dozens of male Mira Costa students don this manly facial hair for “Novembeard,” an event in which participants refrain from shaving until December begins.
Also called “No Shave November,” Novembeard has been popular at Mira Costa for years. The concept is simple: participants can’t shave their faces between Oct. 31 and Dec. 1.
“Whoever can last Novembeard gets the pride of being a man. This is my first year. Last year, I wasn’t capable of doing it,” junior Thomas Brunner said.
At Mira Costa, Novembeard is observed with varying degrees of seriousness. Some completely stop shaving, while others have a less dedicated approach.
“I actually trim up. Some people don’t shave at all, but I look repulsive when I do that. So I trim up a little on my neck. I’m not sure of the exact rules. As long as you have facial hair, I think you can pull it off,” junior Brendan Sofen said.
Novembeard has found a home online as well. Sites including Novembeard.com and NoShavember.com let registered members post daily photos of their beards’ progress throughout the month.
However, this beard-growing tradition isn’t for everyone. The official rules page on NoShavember.com states that the only rule for women in Novembeard is “shave your legs, often.” Obviously, people with a distaste for facial hair also don’t participate.
“I don’t really want a beard. I don’t like it when my chin is not smooth,” said freshman David Brandin when asked if he planned on growing a beard for Novembeards in the future.
Although no organizations promoting Novembeard have currently been set up at Mira Costa, several charitable organizations around the world have adopted the concept of Novembeard as a method of raising money for cancer research.
These charity organizationsbased around facial hair include, “Novembeard for the Cure,” an organization based in Kent, Ohio.Novembeard for the Cure runs a Myspace page to raise funds for awareness of Ewing’s Sarcoma, a type of bone cancer. According to the program’s Myspace page, $4,480 was raised last year for the cause.
“Movember,” a tradition started in Australia that is now worldwide, has raised $47 million since its creation in 2003.
“The guys behind it joked about ‘80s fashion and decided it was time to bring the moustache back. In order to justify their “Mos” (Australian slang for moustache), they used their new looks to raise money for prostate cancer research. They never dreamed that facial hair would ultimately lead to a global movement that would get men talking about a taboo subject—their health,” the official Movember website said/.
Novembeard is not the only semi-organized facial hair growing month. Participants abstain from shaving their mustaches in “March Mustache Madness,” which takes place in March every year Many Costa students have also managed to participate in this hairy affair….
“There’s also Mustache March Madness, where you’re allowed to grow facial hair and people don’t really mind. There are some people that always have facial hair, but this is an appropriate time to grow it,” Sofen said.
Equally popular on the Mira Costa campus is the “playoff beard,” a tradition that began in the National Hockey League. Playoff beards have now found their way into the professional and high school football scene after allegedly starting in the 80s with a single NHL team, The New York Islanders.
“Some people just started to do it, like the Philadelphia Eagles coach Andy Reid. I just thought I’d join in on the fun. I attempted it last year in the playoffs. I didn’t shave at all, and we had like four or five weeks in the playoffs, so I was not very clean,” Sofen, the kicker for the varsity football team, said.
Despite its folkloric method of spreading, Novembeard is very popular at Mira Costa simply as a fun tradition.
“I’m not that beardy,” junior Ryan Kole said. “It’s a little itchy. It’s just for fun.”
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