Life on the Hill provides us with overflowing resources to prep for the future, but it’s hard to deny the challenges that come with living in a secluded Ohio cornfield for four years. The search for favorite foods and other things we can’t always order on Amazon sometimes requires a bit of exploration — including the quest for the perfect haircut. For this assignment, I asked to hear about the hairy adventures of some students and even watched a few cuts go down. Kenyon students can seek out a trim from a professional barber in town, or wait for the chance to go home. Alternatively, some brave souls take scissors into their own hands — something a few have turned into a business. It may just be hanging out on our heads, but hair is a statement of personality, and there is no shortage of great personalities at Kenyon.

Joia Felton ’17 made the decision at the beginning of this year to donate sixteen inches of her hair to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths charity. To do so, she visited Stile Salon and Spa at Easton Mall, where she paid $40 for an hour’s appointment. “I think it was worth it,” she says, for a change this big.

Avery Campos ’18 offers a different experience: he cuts hair from the McBride breezeway for pay-what-you-will (including non-monetary objects for barter). He began by experimenting on his own hair in high school and, thanks to word of mouth, now styles the hair of many of his friends.

Busola Olukoya ’15 nodded knowingly when I asked about the availability of salons near campus that are friendly to African hair. She acknowledged that many black students find the lack of nearby options frustrating. She prefers to treat her own hair using online tutorials, which she uses to cut and style friends’ hair, too.

The instantly recognizable Em Green ’17 gives haircuts along with her housemate Rachel Gorlin ’17 in Unity House. She now has enough experience cutting and dying that she hopes to advertise to the Kenyon community this year for $10 trims.