Students cut back

Tendrils of yellow, brown, black and red hair lay scattered on the checkered tile floor of the Maxwell Student Union Lounge. Several students emerged sporting their new spring look while others sat with long braids and ponytails anxiously awaiting their turn in the chair. It took only seconds and a few quick snips to cut off the hair that had taken donors months to grow.

On Tuesday, Feb. 24, GCSU’s Gamma Sigma Sigma chapter hosted their annual Locks of Love event in the MSU Lounge, offering students a free haircut if they donated their hair to the Locks of Love organization.

Locks of Love is a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. Their mission is to return a sense of self confidence and normalcy to children suffering from hair loss and enable them to proudly face the world and their peers.

“We got about 16 ponytails this year which is less than last year but still a pretty good number,” said Gamma Sigma Sigma PR Chair Danielle Paperno. “I think it went very well this year overall. It seems like everyone had a lot of fun.”

Beauticians from Salon One in the Milledgeville Mall volunteered to cut and style participants’ hair after they donated.

Students who wished to donate ponytails were required to give 10 inches or more, but smaller lengths were also donated and later sold in order to help offset the production costs of making the wigs. Though only 16 students donated ponytails, several others came to offer their support to friends who were participating. This year, all participants were female, though last year about five males donated.

“I had always wanted to do it, and I finally worked up the nerve,” Samantha Lane, a junior mass communication major, said. “I wanted to donate since freshman year, and I have been growing my hair out for the past year so that I could participate this year.”

Many students chose to donate because they know their hair will go to make wigs for financially disadvantaged children suffering from long term illnesses. Some students, like sophomore English major Carter Whitt support the cause so much that they have donated on more than one occasion.

Senior English major Heather Linney donated 11 inches on Tuesday.

“Anyone can do it,” said Linney.”Being able to help children with an illness is really worthwhile, and I would definitely encourage others to donate.”

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 6 2009. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry