You might find some officers on campus with a different look during this time of the year.
For the sixth year going, the Bradley University Police Department is participating in No Shave November and letting their facial hair grow out. Their charity partners have changed throughout the years, with this year’s partner being the Ronald McDonald House Charities for Central Illinois.
Police investigator Justin Kitts and police sergeant Nick McCumber are just a few of the people that are getting their hair past a stubble at BUPD.
“It’s for a good cause,” Kitts said. “It’s nice for the few months that we don’t have to shave every day.”
Officers are making donations to skip the razor until January as allowed by Chief Brian Joschko.
“Unlike just about every other unit at BU, the BUPD has a strict uniform policy and appearance policy so this allows a nice change of pace for the officers,” Joschko said in an email interview.
While Joschko stated that there isn’t a donation goal, McCumber said BUPD likes to donate to organizations that help the community. For the Ronald McDonald House, a member of the Bradley community had used the organization themselves and shared it with the police department.
“It came into our [attention], and the more we looked into it, the more we really liked what they did,” McCumber said. “We don’t make a lot of money for them, but we have fun doing it. It’s kinda one of those things where every little bit helps.”
While Kitts and McCumber know that their exemption donation is going toward a favored charity, there’s been some competition within the BUPD.
In their joint interview, McCumber was quick to claim that he had the better beard.
“I will say I keep mine trim to some degree; I don’t shave everyday,” Kitts said. “Mine doesn’t get as long as the other officers; I don’t allow it to.”
The department has posted on its Facebook asking for people to vote on the officer with the best facial hair, with McCumber being voted the fan favorite.
For anyone interested in sending photos of their own beard or sending a donation, photos and donation details can be sent to McCumber’s email: nmccumber@fsmail.bradley.edu.
