You may know the feeling. You work hard for something and then all of a sudden it’s gone. You see everything you worked for falling to the ground before your eyes.

That’s the feeling I got on December 1, 2014 when half of the beard I worked hard on growing was shaved off in front of the Peace Quad.

Phi Kappa Psi at Loyola has adopted our own philanthropic version of No Shave November for the past couple of years and so far it has been our most successful on-campus fundraiser during the fall semesters.

So what is it? All through the month of November, brothers are encouraged to let their facial hair grow so by the end of the month we can shave some ridiculous design in our beards for all the world to see.

As a chapter, we vote on several designs we think will shock the more conservative facial hair enthusiasts and pay tribute to the likes of facial hair gurus including Ambrose Burnside and Salvador Dali.

Participating in No Shave November, Movember, our philanthropy and other similar charaties during November is important in raising awareness of prostate cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, one in seven men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.

Even more frightening, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, around 500 men are diagnosed with the disease each day. This equates to a new case about every 2.4 minutes.

These statistics show that prostate cancer demands attention. With so many people contracting this disease, it’s important to be involved in fighting it as much as possible. Raising awareness and driving donations help the battle scientists have for finding a faster treatment process.

All of the proceeds and profits that we collect are donated to prostate cancer research. At the beginning of December in the Peace Quad, we publicly shave our faces into the pattern that receives the most votes and brace ourselves for the coming week.

Besides the obvious good you’ll feel in your heart for participating in a good cause, your money is going to change the way that people look at us for a week. You’ll also probably get a good laugh out of it too.

I never thought during my undergraduate career that I would have to explain to a professor why half of my face is shaved and why the other side is as smooth as silk.

I also didn’t expect a lackluster McDonald’s drive-thru employee to ask me why I would go into public the way I looked.

Knowing that my involvement in fundraising is helping stop illnesses harming so many people, I don’t mind.

So don’t be alarmed if you think you see the cave man from the Geico commercials sitting behind you in class (it’s not, sadly). He’ll probably be a Phi Psi, so don’t be afraid to ask him about No Shave November and how you can make him look even more freakish in December.