Shorewood High School’s annual buzz cuts program supports the Midwest Athletes Against Childhood Cancer (MACC) fund. Every spring, students from around the high school come together to support a fundraiser against childhood cancer. 

This year, the fundraiser was hosted on May 24. Louisa Fowler, junior, and Mariana Shaffer, senior, were the leaders. Both had participated in buzz cuts themselves and enjoyed the experience.

“I participated in buzz cuts my freshman year and it was a really great experience for me,” Shaffer said. “It felt really great to give back to people who are going through cancer and stand in solidarity with them.”

“It feels really good to be able to help someone who really needs it right then,” Fowler said. “The buzzing part was really fun… a new experience. I’m definitely glad that I did it. It’s been fun to just focus on other things now, my hair’s kind of always been a big thing about me.”

Fowler noted how unique the program was to Shorewood. 

“It’s just been a really long-standing thing that Shorewood has done,” Fowler said. “I feel like it’s kind of a big identity of Shorewood High School and I like that. It’s just a really cool thing to have so many students show up with buzzed hair, I feel like that sends a pretty powerful message.” 

Shaffer also believes that buzz cuts are an important opportunity to build community.

“I also like all of the support that’s shown to the people who do choose to buzz their hair, I think that makes it such a positive experience,” Shaffer said.

Students also have the opportunity to cut their hair and donate it, rather than do the complete buzz. Nadia Salas, freshman, chose to cut hers this year. 

“It was just a really important cause for me, mostly because someone I love has been affected by cancer. I had an idea that I was going to cut my hair, not buzz, but I wasn’t really sure until the day of,” Salas said. “It was just a really good experience, it made me feel really good afterward to know that I was helping other people.”