By Hailey Mason & Sarah Frolick

As the weather grows colder in November, Bradley Universities Police’s beards grow longer. Normally the department has strict guidelines about facial hair but November is the only month when the officers can get away without shaving. In fact, officers are encouraged to grow their beards as thick as they can to participate in No-Shave November. 

No-Shave November is a national fundraising event that encourages everyone to put down their razors for a month. By not shaving participants donate money that they would normally spend on razors and also spread awareness through their visible facial hair. 

“We allow the officers to make a donation and with that donation, they’re given an exemption for shaving so they are allowed to grow a beard or a goatee,” explained Chief of Bradley Police, Brian J. Joschko. “They have an opportunity to bring an increase in mortality and ultimately raise money for a great organization.”     

Normally money is raised for cancer research because hair is something that cancer patients lose. Bradley Police puts its own spin on the event, partnering with a local organization The Center for Prevention of Abuse. 

The Center for Prevention of Abuse is an organization that wants to help all people live a violence-free life. They do a lot of work in the tri-county area encompassing Peoria for men, women, and children. This organization has been around for 44 years working to end abuse. 

“We partner a lot with The Center for Prevention of Abuse. They help us with a lot of programs, we believe in them. So we have taken the money we have raised and we will present them today with that money,” said Sergeant Nick McCumber.  

This November BUPD presented a check with the money they raised to the center for $325 at their campus-wide event Coffee with a Cop. At the event, there was a Center for Prevention of Abuse representative there to accept the donation for BUPD. 

They hold Coffee with a Cop twice a semester as an open invitation to all of the campus to come to spend time with the police department. The event encourages both students and faculty to ask questions or get to know the individuals that protect their campus. They offer participants free donuts and coffee which generates a lot of traffic coming in and out of the Robert H. Michel Student Center.  

“It’s fun to socialize and chat with the cops because I don’t get to see them a lot except for here,” said Ian Fournie, a student here at Bradley. 

No Shave November Coffee with a Cop is a little different. Not only do the officers get to grow beards to raise money for the Center for Prevention of Abuse, but they also get to participate in a competition. 

For the past few years, BUPD has been doing a “Bradley’s Best Beards” competition for the officers that participate. Throughout the month they update their social media with the progress of the officers’ beards. 

Then at the end of the month at Coffee with a Cop, they hold voting and announce the winner of which officer has the best beard. With the prize being bragging rights!