No fear of facial hair discrimination at IU

Freshman Kyle Sparks picked up his phone to check for texts, and with his other hand, he stroked his carefully maintained beard.

Last Friday, Walt Disney World rewrote its restrictions regarding facial hair.
 Disney employees are now allowed to sport a beard a quarter-inch or shorter in length, which is a direct contrast to the clean-shaven look the company mandated during the last six decades.

Some critics have called this an end to an era of “facial hair discrimination,” and the British newspaper the Guardian proclaimed “Disney’s anti-beard tyranny” has come to a close.

Sparks and local barbershop customers said they believe facial hair discrimination is nonexistent at IU.

“I’ve had a beard since my junior year of high school,” Sparks said.

“And I’ve never felt like I’ve been discriminated against for having one. ... I know that pledges aren’t allowed to have beards, but that’s all the discrimination I’ve heard of, at least.”

Harry Magner, an employee at Charlie’s Barbershop, said he agrees that facial hair discrimination is not prevalent in Bloomington.

“I’ve been here for 15 years, and I have to say that the number of students coming to get a beard trim hasn’t increased or decreased,” Magner said.

“The ones that I do get in here are a lot of times heading to a job interview or going to something that requires a little less scruffiness.”

Magner paused and trimmed a few more inches off a customer’s hair before giving his last statement.

“Of course, a big reason the young boys come in here to get their beards trimmed is because their girlfriends often complain about how messy they look,” he said.

Down the street, Dennis Wiley, a customer at Ward’s Downtown Barber Shop, said he thinks facial hair discrimination doesn’t exist in Bloomington but only because most professionals keep their beards neat and tidy.

“I’ve never heard of any discrimination against beards,” Wiley said.

“I worked as an accountant for 30 years, and we would get an occasional employee that had a moustache or a beard, but they didn’t seem to have any trouble with the bosses for having it.

As long as they looked neat and well kept, I don’t think it mattered if they had a little bit of scruff. I’m assuming the same principle holds true for employees today.”

Fred Rumple, owner of the Golden Shear Barbershop, said he does not feel there is any facial hair discrimination in Bloomington, but he is out of the loop — he quit shaving his customers for fear of blood-borne diseases.

“I don’t see why there would be,” he said of beard discrimination.

“I mean, a beard is something that naturally occurs, so who and why would anybody discriminate against that? If you want a beard, go for it.”