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opinion
Issue 3 • Oct. 9, 2015 • deltacollegian.net
BATTLE OF THE BEARD: SHAVE OR SAVE? Shave the beard for your own good
Save the beard, it’s what nature intended
BY BRANDON GARCIA
BY ZACHARIAH MERCES-SPINDLER
deltacollegian@gmail.com
B
eards. You either love them or hate them. I am for the latter. I have been clean shaving my face, against the grain since my dad taught me many years ago. It is a learned behavior that I do two to three times a week. A ritual that consists of a razor, shaving cream and a brush. There is a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction I get after shaving. It feels good to get all that hair off my face, sort of like that feeling after you get haircut. It seems the times are changing as it’s become the trend to grow out facial hair to emphasize the fact that you can grow a beard, or at least attempt to. My very own generation, Generation Y or the attention cravers, seems to be embracing beards the most for a couple reasons. The main reason beards are being grown is because people are utterly lazy. Having a beard justifies the fact that you don’t want to take the time to properly groom yourself. It then becomes a perception that you are unkept and that you think your beard is trendy. Of course it’s easier not to shave than to actually shave.
Another reason beards are grown is to hide or compensate for some other physical trait. They are grown to hide a weak jaw line or take the attention off a thinning head of hair. But you can’t fool me. We’ve come too far as a society to give up shaving because shaving has become a standard. Shaved faces have become respectable and heroic in this day and age. Every president for the last 100 years has been clean shaven, and rightfully so, as they’re the leader of the United States of America. Soldiers returning home from victories in both World Wars were clean shaven, setting the standard for all American men. Arguably the most famous baseball team in the world, members of the New York Yankees are required to shave to uphold the team’s dynasty. The reasons can go on and on but don’t shave for me, do it for yourself. Do it for the job you want or the promotion you deserve. Do it for the girl next door or the one that got away. One day you’ll look back and see yourself in pictures and realize how silly you look.
M
deltacollegian@gmail.com
en and beards, the way it was meant and should be. The world has evolved drastically in the past 80 years. And a great difference visually is the fact that men no longer are required to shave their beards, and allow their faces to blossom. Individualism is greatly appreciated, especially with one’s personal presentation. Beyond that, it portrays a muchneeded appearance of masculinity in era where masculinity is sparse. Just because men are no longer physical, rough and rugged, doesn’t mean their faces must be baby soft. Of course there are men that cannot grow any facial hair. This isn’t to slight those unfortunate few. Or even to those in the restaurant service, hygiene is important and hair in food is never acceptable. Growing up, as a young boy the biggest steps to manhood were hair on chest and face. That was a young boys dream of
being a man. It’s with the male gender from birth, the desire to grow hair and stick out like a man bear. There’s thousands of years of evidence backing man’s pursuit of beard, from Biblical to Viking men. The norm is no longer necessarily normal. In most places it’s not unusual or odd to see people with tattoos and piercings and overly stylish beards. Things that were once considered taboo are now accepted. Beards are necessary and they grow out of men’s faces naturally, as it was intended. They also allow for a different look amongst each other, swerving from the modern 1950s plain old clean-cut look that has been forced upon man to “clean” them up. Even the military uses grooming standards to help discipline and control their soldiers. Men are free expressive natural people, not Barbie dolls.
THE COLLEGIAN — FALL 2015 PRODUCTION STAFF EDITORS IN CHIEF Alexis Bustamante Robert Juarez ACTING EDITOR IN CHIEF Midori Morita NEWS Alexis Bustamante OPINION/SOCIAL MEDIA Megan Maxey FEATURE/SOCIAL MEDIA Midori Morita ENTERTAINMENT Zachariah Merces-Spindler
SPORTS Richard Reyes
ADVISER Tara Cuslidge-Staiano
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SOCIAL MEDIA Orlando Jose STAFF WRITERS Sarah Agee Brandon Garcia Angel Guerrero Mikeal Honzell Victoria Pinasco Lisa Valtierra
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters raising issues and opinions are encouraged, but shouldn’t be taken as a reflection of the opinions of the staff.
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