Respect the Beard

Beards are growing rampantly amidst our campus community, but not all men out there are capable of achieving the mighty beard. LSC student, Nicholas Chester is one of those men. "My face just can't grow a beard, or a moustache, or a goatee," he said. "It's just not trying to grow hair, just not feeling it. But at least I don't have to worry about shaving too much."

Getting back into the beards, Thom Anderson, of the Mountain Recreation department, sports a short grayish black beard. The beard of Anderson has been off and on for the past twenty-five years but he has it for two reasons. One being that his girlfriend doesn't like the feel of the rough hair that shows up around five o'clock after a day of a clean-shaven face, because sandpaper doesn't feel pleasant. And secondly, but more importantly, he just doesn't like shaving. So, when summer rolls on in, Anderson will be switching over to the goatee.

Mullen however, finds there to be a benefit to having a beard in the summertime. "While a beard is warming in the winter, and the reason we as humans have hair, in the summertime the beard is good wicking material and keeps the sweat off my face. Plus it blocks the sun," he said.

LSC student and Summit of Thieves band founder, Trever Gross, has a rugged beard as well. "I've always wanted a beard," Gross told. "People seem to know me with a beard."  But Gross has also been thought to look like Yukon Cornelius.

To care for his face, Gross shaves the beard every eight months of so, "in one fall swoop, and then I let it all grow back," he said. "The band's on tour this summer, so with the beard people will always recognize me."

LSC frequent, Joey Nelson, nicknamed Joey Gingerbeard,  has perhaps the brightest of beards, sporting a rugged red mane. He simply doesn't shave his beard because he likes the way it looks naturally. But that sentiment doesn't always prevail. "Some days I wish I could shave it off and just put it back on the next day, but that's just too impractical," Nelson told.

LSC student, Ry Wolfel, has a thick beard and something to say himself. "Let me tell you about my beard," he led off, "It's an extension of the face. It's got to be thick-bodied and well-rounded." Referring to his beard as 'the bush,' Wolfel's beard of a reddish hue doesn't exactly match the color of his brown hair. To clarify, Wolfel told, "What I've heard is that the first few times you fully grow out a beard, it comes in reddish. It'll take on my natural hair color eventually."

Sonya Bridges, a girl who appreciates the beard of men said, "If it's not patchy and scratty, it's hot as hell. It's rugged and all that is man."

Kara Tomlinson agrees. "As long as it's maintained, a guy can take pride in his beard. I mean, I've always liked facial hair on guys."

Wolfel trimmed his beard last in January, lightly, but the beard has been growing strong since last September.

Gross told, "people just seem to know me with a beard. It's one of those defining features."

And as put definitively by Emerson, "You know a true beard when you see one."