Remember Remember St. Lawrence Movember

The weather turns cold, bodies are bundled as students sport new outerwear purchased during the discount summer season from clearance racks and trendy thrift shops, and fuzzy caterpillars creep the upper lips of the male students at St. Lawrence University. These fury friends, some shaved from burly beards others sprouting from fresh faces, are grown to support a cause many at St. Lawrence hold dear. 

The election season is hot in the air, but at St. Lawrence we do not wish this to overshadow the annual tradition November brings. At St. Lawrence November is synonymous with Movember, or the month of the moustache. Here, we do not just grow this bold facial hair on a whim or to shield our noses from the intake of cold air, but to raise awareness for men’s health issues, most notably prostate and testicular cancers. 

Just as all of us know people who have faced breast cancer and other women’s health concerns, the widespread threats of men specific cancers have altered many of our lives and the lives of those we love. So it seems only fitting to follow the breast cancer awareness month of October with a similar month of remembrance and progress with Movemeber. These months are reminders, yet the hope is that these two months will extend through each year and serve to recognize the hardships families face at the hands of these awful diseases everyday. 

October plays host to the Power of Pink Week, which was started by the volleyball team, and now includes the entire athletic department at St. Lawrence. Teams sport new pink jerseys, panels of doctors come to St. Lawrence to educate students about breast cancer and treatment, and we honor and remember those who have been impacted by cancer. This year alone the student initiative was successful in raising over $5,000 to support those nearby fighting breast cancer. The momentum did not falter as we shifted months and developed a similar focus. 

The Women's Soccer Team during Power of Pink Week 

As the athletic department has adopted the month of October, two groups who have unofficially become the noble champions of goodwill through Movember and engage the campus during the month are the Outing Club and the Men’s Varsity Hockey team. The Outing Club conducts several events all month to frame the stages of stubbled growth. The members of the Outing Club are often relieved to allow their facial hair to flourish during an accepted time, when the remainder of campus joins in. On Thursday November 8th a celebratory ride around campus with bicycles, roller blades, and long boards serves as a kick off event to the month long initiative. This mustached cavalcade welcomes all students and the creativity with which these individuals sport their facial festivities whether real or fake. The turnout each year is always wonderfully high and we consistently overwhelm the library, dining halls, and academic buildings on our parade around campus.

Ice hockey and moustaches have always gone hand in hand  from NHL greats Lanny McDonald to Dave Schultz to playoff season in general. So it is only fitting that the hockey team offers their times and grooming efforts to raise awareness. This year the skating saints designed t-shirts and are selling them to students requesting observes to “ask me about my mo.” The funds raised provide money for Canton Church and Community Programs to support Men’s Health locally. The players even sport their own lip ticklers throughout the months to encourage the rest of campus to join. 

Kyle Flanagan of the Skating Saints in action 

What I appreciate about the relationship between St. Lawrence and this event is how tailored it is to the students drawn to this institution. We are an excitable bunch, quick to rally and happy to offer our upper lips as beacons of brilliance. We are playful and fun as we take events and involvements further than expected or anticipated, and do so with great smiles. Most of all we are passionate, bold and resolute. We started this journey and we hope to see it through as progress is made and lives are reaffirmed and remembered. I love all of these qualities St. Lawrence students possess, and how often these passions are demonstrated in the daily lives of the students who fill the grounds. The welcoming spirit here is genuine and warm especially in times of cold. I invite all to join our family as we grow love, grow awareness, grow this community, and grow manes above our mouths which for this month can say more than the words we form. Cheers to Movember. 

Relaxing in the leaves with my muzzy

I invite to learn more about this cause by visiting the official movember website:

http://us.movember.com/?home