With November gone, the amount of mustaches roaming the halls of Benilde-St. Margaret’s has mysteriously plummeted. Observant students have taken to their phones to look up why there were so many in the first place. Google brought them a term that most are unfamiliar with.

Movember: An annual event centered around men growing out mustaches for the entire month of November. The event first started as a joke in 2003 between two Australian friends, Travis Garone and Luke Slattery, in an attempt to bring back the ‘stache fashion.

After an unexpected rise in the amount of Mo Bros (the tag for the participants in Movember), the two decided to make the challenge more than just a fun friendly competition. They decided to use a blue ribbon, like the pink ribbon for breast cancer, to represent a number of men’s health issues. By growing a mustache, men are supporting matters such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, or the high suicide rates in men.

Several students around BSM have taken to the challenge of becoming a Mo Bro. Senior Elliot Huether felt ready with a unique reason to join. “For Halloween I wanted to be like Rooster from Top Gun. I actually grew my mustache out for like, a week. Then when I heard about Movember, I knew I had to come through. But my mustache, well, my dyed mustache was not very good,” Huether said.

Despite an imperfect execution, Huether stuck to Movember rocking the stash that stands for so much more. Huether was able to find a reason in his own life. “One of my friends had a testicular hernia, I think he had to get surgery down there. I also want to spread awareness on other issues like testicular cancer, prostate cancer and all those issues. Also, more lifting injuries,” Huether said.

Another senior, William Howell, believes the union of men in the month of November is the most important aspect. “I think it’s great. It’s a great opportunity for guys in the school to find some common ground and build a stronger relationship with each other,” Howell said.

Students believe the most noticeable thing should not be the hair, but the cause it represents. Per the CDC, males make up 80% of suicides. Senior Jackson Sando believes this to be the most pressing issue. “I definitely wish suicide was talked about more. I think it’s like six in an hour or something like that. That’s a very daunting stat line that I think really needs to be looked upon,” Sando said.

But is growing a mustache enough? Sando believes this to be true, but action speaks louder than mustaches. “I think men’s issues definitely need to be talked about more. I think men in general just hide a lot of stuff. We should be more open about it. If you see someone that looks sad, a guy, I think you should give him a hug. Be like, ‘I’m there for you bro,’” Sando said.