As the Model High School atrium slowly filled up, teacher Robert Murdock settled into the chair to have his hair cut into a mohawk style.
“My head is actually really cold now,” Murdock said, as the stylist shaved the hair off one side of his head. “That’s why my leg is shaking so much.”
Many of the nearly 1,000 students at Model High watched in their classrooms via video conference as the haircut continued. Students could be heard giggling on the video, as well as the 20 or so students and faculty watching live.
Murdock teaches Spanish I and coaches boys and girls soccer at Model High School. When three students at Model were diagnosed with cancer within weeks of each other last semester, he had an idea of how he could help raise money. He let the student body vote on giving him a crazy haircut, and donate money to support their classmates at the same time.
Credit: Adam Carey
Credit: Adam Carey
“I was actually relieved when they voted to give me a mohawk,” Murdock said. “Because I think if I got shaved bald, my kid wouldn’t recognize me when I got home.”
The contest raised over $3,000 for the three Model students and their families, for help with a number of non-treatment related expenses.
“Some of the students need to travel to Atlanta for treatment,” Murdock said. “So travel costs alone are challenging, especially if the family is split with one parent staying in Atlanta and one parent staying home with their other kids.”
Stylist Scarlett Gaddis of Lisa’s Salon in Shannon volunteered to give Murdock his haircut.
“It’s actually the largest crowd I’ve ever given a haircut in front of,” Gaddis said. “It’s so great how the community has really come together to support these kids.”
However, a number of students and a faculty complained that the mohawk was really more of a fauxhawk.
“The mohawk actually looks really good on him,” one student said. “I guess we were hoping for something hideous, but Mr. Murdock is pulling it off.”
Credit: Rome News-Tribune
Credit: Rome News-Tribune
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