Mass-Style at Visitation Carries Message of Health Empowerment

Over 30 students, staff and alumnae took the stage Monday morning to cut their hair for charity.

Teacher and alumna Liz Hewitt organized the event. Hewitt, 35, has been breast-cancer free for two years. The event was both a celebration of that milestone and an opportunity for Hewitt to pass on an important message.

"You are responsible for your health," she emphasized from her makeshift salon chair. 

"The doctors that you know ... they're not super heroes. They're not robots. They can't know what you don't tell them," Hewitt told the student body. "You are responsible for your body. You are responsible for getting what you need from your health care, and if you feel like something isn't right, or you're not being heard, or you have a weird pain or you feel like something's just not quite right—it is your job to communicate that to your physicians. If I had not done that, I would not be here talking to you today."

"There are certain things more important than looks."

Students with eight inches of hair or more to donate came from grades kindergarten through senior year. Planners said they were astonished by the number of participants that signed up.

"I'm doing this for my mother, who had cancer last year," said Katie Kulhanek, a freshman. "It shows that there are certain things more important than looks."

The ponytails collected will be donated to Locks of Love and Pantene Beautiful Lengths, and could make as many as five new wigs.

A number of stylists from area salons donated their services for the event.

While some stylists have been involved with the charities before, the mass-haircut on stage was a new experience. "Yeah, not on stage like this," said stylist Lucille from Bleach salon in St. Paul. "It was really beautiful to be a part of."