The Mustache Relief
Hart Hagerty
Issue date: 9/29/05 Section: editor's picks
- Page 1 of 1
Versus Magazine Online [Image based format]
Vanderbilt students are altruistic in their support for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, whether donating their dollars, hosting a charitable cookout, or growing mustaches. At first, the connection between hair follicles and fundraising seems nonexistent, but senior Austin Bauman, founder of The Mustache Relief, insists this "unstylish" method is a perfect way to connect people in the Vanderbubble, where it is "easy to feel removed from current events," to the rest of the world. Bauman and a dozen fellow "growers" hope their mustaches will redirect students' focus from books and beer-pong to charity. By donning "Ask me about my mustache!" buttons, inquisitive onlookers will be informed that the growth of their uncanny mustaches is to aid the Vanderbilt Red Cross Club, and then asked to donate. Although "trying to get a date with a mustache has been difficult," Bauman's sacrifice of his upper lip for The Mustache Relief is well worth the cause. This enthusiastic, offbeat approach to helping others certainly makes a bolder statement than the plethora of neon flyers strewn across campus. Maybe the answer to relief is right underneath our noses.
Check out the website: www.vanderbilt.edu/mustacherelief/