THE
Clarion
Volume 76, Issue 11
www.brevard.edu/clarion
SERVING BREVARD COLLEGE SINCE 1935
Howto avoid the flu
this season,
see page 3
Nov. 12, 2010
No Shave November: Raising awareness one beard at a time
By John M. Climer
Editor in Chief
As mid-November nears, you may begin to
notice an unusual phenomenon occurring around
campus. That phenomenon: beards; the reason:
No Shave November
Urban Dictionary defines No Shave November
as the month in which you don’t shave any hair
on your body, but instead you grow more bestial,
brutish, and manly.
The origins of this hygienic hiatus remain
unclear According to most sources, the event
most likely started in 2003 in Melbourne,
Australia, when a group of men were inspired
by a Breast Cancer Awareness movement.
Their inspiration gave them a desire to create a
global men’s health movement which evolved
into growing a mustache for the entire month of
November to raise awareness and funding for
male-related cancers worldwide.
The movement, which started jokingly over
a few beers, eventually became the Movember
Foundation. According to the Movember
Foundation Web site, “Movember challenges
men to change their appearance and the face
of men’s health by growing a moustache. The
rules are simple, start Nov. 1 clean-shaven and
then grow a moustache for the entire month. The
moustache becomes a ribbon for men’s health.
In this issue...
Campus News:
Cheerleading Steps Up 2
News:
BC up for reaccreditation 3
Flu season on campus 3
Sports:
Cross country at SAC tournament 4
Running back sets BC record 5
Opinion:
Resurrecting the American Dream 6
These Hills: Grandfather Mountain 6
Arts & Life
Series Preview: The Walking Dead'... 7
Chef Boy-ar-Dave 7
Odds and Ends:
Your Horoscope 8
American Hero 8
(Right to left)
Sporting different
stages of No Shave
November growth,
John Climer, Prof.
Steve Martin, Ian
Grant, Patrick
Lawrence and
Jonathan Hyde make
up a handful of BC’s
bearded brethren.
the means by which awareness and funds are
raised for cancers that affect men. Much like the
commitment to run or walk for charity, the men
of Movember commit to growing a moustache
for 30 days.”
Locally, the event has taken on a different
notion, of simply growing facial hair during
November to prepare for the upcoming cold
weather, or just for the sake of growing facial
hair
When talking to male students, it became
apparent that the no-shave tradition is widely
appreciated. “I think it’s nice that people know
about it.” said senior Patrick Lawrence. “It’s an
excuse for lazy people not to shave and I think
it’s really cool that they ’re unknowingly raising
awareness.”
Some males find pride in growing facial
hair, “No shave November is a testament to
manliness and a testament to Chuck Norris,”
said junior Carleton Ramsey. “I think it’s great
when women wear ribbons for breast cancer
and it’s great when men grow beards for man
cancers.”
Junior Kramer Clark had a similar perspective
on the event, saying, “I probably can’t participate
in no shave November because of grooming
rules on the baseball team, but it’s truly funny
and awesome to see all the new stubble around
campus—even if they don’tknowthey’re raising
awareness. Beards for cancer... classic!”
It seems that November has taken on a new
significance in raising awareness about male-
related illnesses through No Shave November
and we at the Clarion encourage all BC men to
help promote a healthy lifestyle and a healthy
beard through participation in this month’s
event.
Drug sales increase, but to whose benefit?
By Park Baker
Staff Writer
We all know someone who takes prescription
drugs. It could be your roommate who takes
allergy medication, your girlfriend who takes
birth control, or an aunt who takes an anti
depressant. We seem to have a cure for most
any ailment, and a supplement for most lifestyle
choices.
The development of new drugs comes from
clinical trials, but there is some controversy
about how accurate these tests really are.
According to PubMed, a free database that
works with the National Institute of Health,
most trials are funded and conducted by the
pharmaceutical company that is pushing the
new drug to begin with.
This has led to congressional action to limit the
amount of interaction between the clinicians and
the pharmaceutical companies, but separating
the interests is not that easy.
Dr Bill Andersen, a resident of Brevard who
practices in Fletcher, says that often times
doctors have a blind eye about the side effects
of new drugs. “Their training is based around
the prescription pad, the drug reps are a hell of
an influence,” he said. “At one time I practiced
straight internal medicine, but I got burnt out on
that because we just pump people full of drugs,
particularly children. The long-term effects just
are not known, the studies just haven't been
conducted thoroughly.”
According to an article published in The
Guardian, oftentimes clinicians not employed
by pharmaceutical companies look to other
companies for grants to conduct their research,
and companies often look to researchers for
studies that will make their products look
favorable, sometimes medical journal articles
presented by academic researchers may actually
be ghost-written by pharmaceutical companies,
and the high-profile doctor whose name appears
see 'Pharmaceuticals' page 8