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BY JOSH KJENNER
University of Alberta
Student Contributor
(Engineering)
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A visitor to the University of Alberta campus in the next
month might be surprised to see 47 people going about their
daily business without the benefit of hair. The reason for
this isn't balmy weather or an outbreak of head lice.
The reason is Gary Wicentowich.
It's not that Gary, an electrical engineering student in his
fourth year of studies, has some kind of vendetta against
hair. He just realized that it raises more money on floors
than on heads. Gary is the man behind the Engineering Head
Shave, which this year raised $12,500 for the Alberta Cancer
Foundation.
Conducted Nov. 26 in the newly opened solarium area in the
Engineering Teaching and Learning Complex, the shave went
“ahead” in front of several hundred onlookers.
Three at a time, participants lined up and were stripped of
their coifs until nothing remained but a heap of hair and
a gang of Mr. Clean doppelgangers.
Two professors, two women, a sporter of dreadlocks and Gary
himself were among those collecting pledges for the cancer
foundation.
This year's event was a success that exceeded even Gary's
expectations. “I was really proud of it. It raised more
than double what I expected,” he said.
This is actually the second head shave that Gary has run.
He started organizing the inaugural event last year after
his father was diagnosed with cancer, and with a group of
family and friends he was able to raise about $13,000. After
the success of that event, Gary decided to make the head shave
an annual thing.
This year, he organized the event with an engineering focus.
This allowed him to gain the support of a large, active student
body and financial support from the Faculty of Engineering.
This money, when coupled with the donations received from
the about 15 sponsors he enlisted, allowed Gary to provide
toques and other gifts to each of the participants to reward
them for their foray into the bald community.
Organizing the logistics of the event, attracting sponsorship
and completing other assorted legwork was a lot for one man
to handle. So Gary enlisted the help of his brother Graeme,
a mechanical engineering student in his second year of studies,
and his girlfriend Helen Press, a graduate from the elementary
education program at the university.
He may have to consider taking on more staff next year. When
asked about plans for the future, Gary said bigger is on his
radar. Gary wants to involve alumni to broaden the appeal
and reach of the event, and give alumni the opportunity to
involve themselves, to some extent, in the institution that
granted their degrees.
If there are any alumni out there with enough hair to warrant
a shaving, start looking forward to next fall. Gary certainly
will be.
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