LaFortune parlor serves campus, local community Panel discusses Catholic feminism

By KATIE DOBELHOFF news writer

Zak e mmons, the owner and operating barber of u niversity h air s tylists, has been cutting hair for 25 years, but his business has been serving the n otre d ame community for almost double that.

u niversity h air s tylists, currently located in the basement of l a f ortune s tudent c enter, has offered haircuts to students and faculty for 45 years.

e mmons’ father Jeff started u niversity h air s tylists in his late 20s.

b efore then, n otre d ame ran its own barbershop when the u niversity was an all-boys school, catering primarily towards the large ro T c population on campus during the ‘40s and ‘50s. The e mmons family acquired the business in 1978, expanding it into a salon that offers cuts, coloring, styling and waxing.

The e mmons were not originally in the business of owning a salon on a college campus.

“ m y dad was cutting hair in s outh b end, and he happened to cut the hair of a couple guys who worked in the administration. a nd they said, ‘Jeff, we’re looking to hire. w e don’t want a barbershop anymore, and we don’t want to run it. you should throw your hat in the ring,’” e mmons told The o bserver.

The business originally operated in b adin h all with a couple of chairs and one barber, moving to l a f ortune in 1987.

Zak e mmons describes the business as being

“backwards from a lot of places in so many ways.” f or instance, they receive many more male clients than female clients at about a 70-30 ratio, atypical for a beauty salon.

“ i think guys probably find it hard to stretch to go home [for] a haircut,” e mmons said. s taff and graduate students are easily half of e mmons’ clientele, if not more, with the other half being mainly undergraduates. m any of these customers

By KATELYN WALDSCHMIDT a ssociate news editor

Tuesday night, as part of the e x l ibris a uthor series, s aint m ary’s community members gathered in c arroll a uditorium and on Zoom to watch a panel presented by editors and contributors of “ u nruly c atholic f eminists: p rose, p oetry, and the f uture of the f aith.”

The panel was moderated by d aniel h oran, director of the c enter for s pirituality. h oran opened the event by introducing the three speakers: l eigh e icke, Jeana d el r osso and l izzie w iley. e icke, one of the three coauthors, spoke first, discussing how the book is part of a larger series. see feminisT PAGE 3

“Jeana, a na [ k othe] and i met in graduate school at the u niversity of m aryland. a na and i started talking about putting together a collection of critical essays addressing women in faith, c atholicism and feminism,” she said.