Sophomores Matt Booden and Ben Yoder decided to ditch their razors this past November, letting their facial hair flow freely to promote men’s health.

Booden decided to participate in No Shave November for the first time this year now that he can actually grow a little scruff on his upper lip and chin.

His older brother participated in past years and wanted to take part in spreading awareness about men’s health.

“I started growing facial hair a little bit in the past few months, so I decided that I was going to give it a shot,” said Booden. “I asked Ben about it and he seemed interested. He can grow a bigger ‘stache than I can, so we partnered up.”

“Since it’s on your face, you definitely get asked questions,” said Booden. “It’s unique compared to any other kind of campaign because it is something that a lot of guys can do and it’s super easy. You just don’t shave.”

According to the Movember Foundation website, the main goals of No Shave November are to to raise money to improve the treatment and quality of life for men with cancer, reduce male rates of suicide, and help men take control of their own health through education. Movember began in 2003 and now has over 5 million participants each year.

In 2017 alone, No Shave November raised $17.1 million dollars in the United States in order to fight the health issues that men face today.

According to the Movember Foundation, 1 in 9 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer at some point in their lives and 75% of suicides are committed by men.

Yoder and Booden said that the reception to their new-found facial hair has been positive, and that they feel proud of their success in spreading awareness about this campaign.

“Usually people think it looks good. Other than my parents, it’s all good,” joked Yoder. “My friends compliment me all the time. They’ll say, ‘hey, nice ‘stache,’ or ‘looking good, the lettuce is coming in nice.’ My parents are the only ones that call me a bum for having facial hair.”

Going into December, Yoder and Booden were thrilled with the response from their peers and by the donations that they raised for the event.

“A lot of people, after they saw it on social media, they kind of came up to us to say that they were doing it too. It was awesome to see that,” Booden said. “A lot of people donated. We’ve raised 180 dollars of our 200 dollar goal, so we are nearly there.”

Though Booden will shave his scruff in the winter months, Yoden is willing to keep his beard as long as people continue to donate.

“I grow it out whenever I feel like it, but if people donate, I would be more than happy to keep growing it out,” said Yoden.

It can be a struggle for most teenage boys to grow any facial hair, but anyone can participate in future Movember events by donating or posting on social media.

“There’s also a group called the “Mo-sisters,” which is another campaign for girls or anyone else who can’t grow a mustache so they can still raise money and raise awareness for the event,” explained Booden.

Yoder and Booden plan on participating in No Shave November annually and hope that the the scale of the event increases locally and nationally.

The two want to encourage more male students to take part in Movember in the future, no matter how patchy or scraggly their beards may be.

“It has been cool to see how people have complimented us, and we hope that more people from New Trier participate in the coming years. For next year hopefully more people will be aware,” said Booden.