By Jessie Hethcoat
Kenna Hall's basement was temporarily turned into a barbershop this past Wednesday. However, there was only one kind of haircut being given that night, the shaven head.
"This event has went beyond our wildest expectations," Kenna Hall President Loan Doung said as the evening began.
By the end of the night, $2,772 was raised for the new Kenya charity, in addition to the donations that were made in last semester's Karting for Kenya charity event.
All of the evening's proceeds went to the Brother Andrew Dispensary, a Holy Cross parish in Nairobi, Kenya. The money will be used to buy medications for HIV/AIDS patients, orphans, other vulnerable children, young unwed mothers and widows.
Additionally, all hair of sufficient length was donated to Locks of Love, an organization that uses donated hair to make wigs for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Locks of Love will be cutting hair tonight at 6:30 p.m. in the Mehling Ballroom.
Freshmen Kenna Hall residents Corbin Sales, Spencer Degerstedt, Kevin Hannon, Jordan Hutchingson, Billy Gibbs and sophomores Thomas Payne and Linnea Heu were all part of the shave. Villa Maria resident sophomore Erik Oreschak and senior Corrado Resident Assistant Clay Williams also participated.
Freshman Degerstedt is a member of the Kenna Hall Council. In October, Degerstedt proposed the idea of holding a second charity event, this time shaving heads for donations. Even though each residence hall is only required to host one charity event, the Kenna Hall staff decided to go through with the idea.
"When the event finally came, it was shocking to see just how dedicated and on board everyone was, especially the female participants," Degerstedt said.
Kenna Hall RAs senior Travis Lewis and juniors Chris Clem Amy Dollowitch and Stephanie Lies also shaved their heads.
Both the hall director, Katie Cashman, and the assistant hall director, Thomas Bruketta, did as well. Kenna pastoral resident the Rev. Mark Ghyselinck, C.S.C, shaved his beard for the first time in eight years.
In total, $1,400 needed to be raised to shave all participants' heads. Each participant was drawn in by $100 increments. For example, once $100 dollars was raised, Sales had to shave his head. Then after $200 was raised, Sales and Degerstedt were signed up to shave their heads.
By the time the donations reached $1,400, 14 people were signed up to shave their heads. By the time the event came around, three more people were added on to that list. Before the event begun, $1,939 had already been raised for the Kenya charity. However, the actual shaving of each participant's head was auctioned off to audience members.
People bid anywhere from $5 to $150 for the honor of shaving their friend, or RA's, head. Freshman Adam Bowlsby donated $500 to the cause, and because of this, had the choice of whose head to shave. He chose Heu.
The bidding got competitive toward the end of the event. Dollowitch's mother had to outbid some UP students and ended up paying $100 to shave her daughter's head.
Cashman summed up the night with the short speech she made before having her own shaved.
"All we're doing is cutting hair, and that's in exchange for the gift of life," Cashman said. "This event proves that we can all be something bigger than you think."
