The beginning of the winter season brings with it festive occasions that students at Stone Bridge look forward to throughout the entire year: Football playoffs, snow days, the holiday season and most importantly, No Shave November.

From November 1 through the end of the month, men all across America tucked their razors in the back of their cabinets and let nature do its work. Guys at Stone Bridge were no exception, having grown out their beards, ‘staches and sideburns in celebration of the event.

“I participated in No Shave November both to raise awareness for men’s health and also because it’s a fun excuse to grow out my beard,” senior William Wetmore said.

Some participate in No Shave November simply as an excuse to test the waters of growing facial hair, while others dive head first into it as a heated competition as to who can grow the burliest beard by the 30th of the month.

“I started growing my beard in October, so I just decided to keep it going for November,” senior Todd Ballinger said. “I can say for sure that Albion Azari did not have nearly as nice of a beard as I did.”

“My sideburns game was stronger than his though,” responded Azari.

While students have fun working on their whiskers all month, there are many more reasons to embrace the season of the beard. Since the fall of 2009, the No Shave November Organization has aimed to turn this occasion into something that can do some good.

“No-Shave November is a web-based, non-profit organization devoted to growing cancer awareness and raising funds to support cancer prevention, research, and education,” details their website.

The organization asks participants not only to grow out their facial hair to raise awareness, but also to donate money that would typically go toward monthly grooming costs toward advancing our understanding of cancer and its treatment.

As the month wrapped up, beards began to fade from the halls of Stone Bridge. However, the fun that they brought and the good that they did remain with the participants for far longer.