Students get fresh starts with fresh cuts

Carlos Alvarez hadn’t gotten a fade since early high school. That was until the sophomore majoring in aerospace engineering went to the “Fresh Cuts & Connections” event Student Equity and Inclusion Programs and Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention and Services co-sponsored Tuesday.

“[Los Angeles] barbers are expensive,” Alvarez said. “Back home, I just had the lady who’s been cutting my hair since [I was] four, I was like, ‘Just cut it real short and I’ll grow out for who knows how long.'”

Alvarez left the chair with not only a fresh cut, but a chance to meet new people. 

“Fresh Cuts & Connections,” held in the Center for Black Cultural and Student Affairs and the First Generation Plus Success Center, featured free, gender-affirming haircuts and braiding for students on campus to begin the semester.

“[The goal of the event was] to put a smile on somebody’s face — make them feel good, look good,” said Carlos Spivey, founder of Barber Gurus, a nonprofit organization that mentors new barbers and does outreach in L.A. whose members provided the haircuts and braids for the event. “Someone may have a job interview tomorrow. Someone may want to be fresh to class.”

Jaden Bakerr, a sophomore majoring in political science, had never gotten braids before the event. As a transfer student from Loyola University Chicago, Bakerr had the chance to start a new semester on a new campus with a new style, and to meet fellow students while waiting for a turn in the chair.

Students also had the chance to connect with barbers. Ricardo Almendariz, a barber for eight years, said it was “amazing” to get the chance to talk with students as he cut their hair.

“[We talked about] where they go to get their hair cut, their family and how I started my journey of being a barber,” Almendariz said. “Normally, I don’t ever really get hit with questions like that.”

SEIP and RSVP created the event as a way to bring “barbershop culture” to campus in an accessible way, allowing for easy communication and community to form. In doing so, the event honed in on its three goals: cuts, connection and a conversation about consent. 

“When you’re getting a haircut, the barber will ask you, ‘Do you like this? What do you want? How are you liking it so far?’ and having constant check-ins,” said Misha Belden, the gender equity programs coordinator at SEIP.

In planning the event, members of SEIP and RSVP hoped to give attendees, particularly masculine-identifying students who don’t often discuss consent, an opportunity to learn about the topic in a welcoming environment while also leaving students with a fresh haircut and a chance to meet others, Belden said.

“Something I was speaking with a student about is that this event is really meaningful because it gives them access to something that’s part of their well-being,” Belden said. “We wanted to be able to address those basic needs while also having these more complicated conversations about consent with masculine students.”

Juan Garcia, a junior majoring in aerospace engineering, said he was pleasantly surprised by the welcoming environment of the event.

“The moment you walk in, the people up at the front desk, they’ve been really, really friendly,” Garcia said. “Even waiting out there in the lounge, I got to meet other students and connect with them … It’s been a great experience overall, and I hope that they do more of these events”

The event’s success came at a surprise to Belden, but revealed its importance, she said. 

“It’s good to understand what kind of need there is in the USC community and, clearly, one of them is having these conversations, but also getting haircuts,” Belden said. “So, what better way than bringing them both together?”