Students shed locks for charity

Jason Davison got a haircut yesterday — but instead of walking to one of the many barber shops in Oakland, he got the same treatment by sitting on a folding chair in the middle of the William Pitt Union Lawn.

From noon to 4 p.m. yesterday, Pitt’s chapter of Buzzing for Change, a student service organization, hosted a fundraiser for the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Foundation in support of children with pediatric cancer.

About 300 students registered, received a number corresponding to their place in line and waited for a trim or a buzz. Five stylists from the Supercuts in Bethel Park, Pa., lined the lawn in front of the Cathedral, administering about 40 complimentary haircuts on a green tarp. Extension cords ran from the Union across the lawn to power the electric clippers.

Haircuts were free to students, but “Buzzing for Change” T-shirts where given to students who dropped off donations. Donations made at the event went to the Children’s Hospital Foundation, and Ellie Beam, president of Pitt’s chapter of Buzzing for Change, said the group raised $480.

In addition to haircuts, students received free pizza, soda, music and cookies from Eat’n Park. 

Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed service fraternity, distributed food at the fundraiser. A brother of Alpha Phi Omega, Davison arrived at the event to chat with fellow members of the fraternity.

“I stopped by, realized I needed a haircut anyway and figured I’d rather the money went to some sort of cause,” Davison, a sophomore psychology major, said.

While he was not personally affected by childhood cancer, Davison said he still appreciates the cause.

“I have a couple friends who are survivors, so it’s just kind of important for me to see this cause go somewhere and not just sit,” Davison said. “I’m happy to donate.”

Beam, a sophomore education major, intended for the initiative to raise both money and awareness for pediatric cancer.

“When [child patients] go through chemo, they lose their hair, so the free haircuts are in support of them,” Beam said.

Beam explained that students could come to have dead ends trimmed or request a full-on buzz cut. If a student scissored off enough hair, he or she had the option of donating his or her tresses to Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that creates hairpieces for cancer patients from salon donations.

Sarah Modispacher, a Supercuts stylist who donated her time to cut hair at the event, said two students cut off enough hair to donate to Locks of Love. She said she appreciated the gesture.

“[The donations] were really sweet and almost unexpected that someone would want to do that — supporting a good cause and helping out kids with cancer — which is amazing,” Modispacher said.

The majority of her requests that day were for trims, Modispacher said, although she estimated that the group gave about 10 buzz cuts during the event.

Mary Burke, a sophomore communications and rhetoric major, registered at the event after a class.

She said she heard about the event through her membership in Gamma Sigma Sigma, a service sorority. She said she was in need of a spring trim and was happy to participate in the fundraiser after learning about the initiative.

“I just think [the Children’s Hospital Foundation] is a really great cause,” Burke said. “I know people who have used that hospital before, and I really support it.”