Written by Ann Vu
Illustrated by Sylvain Chan
In November, LSE saw students growing moustaches as a sign to kick off Movember, as they participated in a variety of events and fundraising activities hosted by LSESU clubs and societies. Over the course of the month, more than £3,880 was raised for charity.
Originating in Australia in 2003, Movember has found its way to becoming a global movement advocating for men’s mental and physical well-being, especially in the areas of mental health, suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer.
Several AU clubs organised runs and exercises to raise awareness of the cause. On 18 November, LSESU Hockey started a 24-hour relay, doing different forms of exercises throughout the day and night. ‘4 Marathon 4 Movember’ was also held by LSESU Lacrosse, running four different marathons during the month of November.
LSESU RAG hosted a push-up challenge at the Sheffield Street stand, with a £2 donation for a chance to compete and enter the top 10 leaderboard.
Some clubs also introduced incentives to encourage more participation in the movement. The LSESU Men’s Rugby team arranged a set of targets for fundraising, each corresponding to a commitment, ranging from leg waxing to a tattoo.
New opportunities to stay fit and healthy were also on offer. This year, the LSESU Dance Club held a ‘Bring a Guy to Dance’ workshop for beginners, while the LSESU Pole Fitness Club held a ‘Bring Your Own Boy’ session. Jessica-May Cox, a beginner at Pole Fitness, said there were a “surprising number of boys there”.
On 13 November, Josh Thomas, Treasurer of the Athletics Union, also embarked on a 26-mile marathon walk from the LSE campus to the LSE sports ground – the Berrylands – and back. To draw attention to the rate of mortality for alcohol-specific causes for men being double that of women, he scored a different non-alcoholic schooner at each mile.
On the LSESU Men’s Football Club Instagram story, he said: “I know it’s been a good experience and a bit of fun, but mental health is a very important cause, and I wanted to do this today to raise awareness.”
“I’ve struggled with mental health in the past, and still do right now. It’s really important to get talking, get your mates to talk, make sure they’re okay, maybe even go for a schooner.”
