Top left: Eric Margules, Kalamazoo, Michigan, senior, says that his beard is a result of laziness. "It's just too much of a pain in the ass to shave every day," Margules says, "plus my face is really sensitive."
Dominant photo: Samuel Weber, former KU student from Wichita, says he grew his beard out of necessity while on a month-long camping trip. He plans to shave soon because his beard becomes too much of a topic."I don't want to talk about it every time I go out,"Weber says.
abroad in Asia,where he was forced to bear the brunt of Eastern prejudices. Kellerman says in those exotic cultures,facial hair is considered dirty and suitable only for an old man,which coincidentally became his nickname among the company he kept. He also says most of the guys he met had a bit of difficulty growing facial hair. So this writer suspects a mere case of jealousy.
Which brings up one of the pitfalls of a man's pursuit of facial greatness. What will the ladies think?
"It keeps you warm in winter," he says, "and if your relationship is going too good, it can give your girlfriend something to bitch about."
Aside from a completely logical idolatry of the King, Kellerman holds a few more reasons for his sported scruff.
Perlut of the American Mustache Institute says he believes that most women find the mustache objectionable and that men who wish to have something on their face will engage in what he calls the "spousal compromise" of a full beard. He also believes these men to be weaker-willed and at odds with the essential principles—for example, that the beard is weaker than the mustache—of the Institute.
Sarah Hicks, Bennington freshman, corroborated Dr. Perlut's assessment.
"I don't mind, I guess," Hicks says. "I don't think I'd be attracted to it."
She did, however, express an interest in trading natural abilities.
"If guys would carry a baby for nine months and we'd get facial hair, I'd switch," she says.
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