Starz Barber & Beauty bringing barbershop community to two Green Bay college campuses
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DE PERE - A local barbershop is expanding to Green Bay-area colleges to help students of color feel more comfortable on campus.
Starz Barber & Beauty, with locations at 755 Mike McCarthy Way and 739 Diane St., started offering appointments at St. Norbert College during the fall semester. The barbershop partnered with the college to start coming to campus during the spring in 2020, but pushed its start date back because of the pandemic.
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay also wanted to create more amenities on campus that would support students of color, so it partnered with Starz this year, said Corey King, the university's vice chancellor for university inclusivity & student affairs. The university had a soft opening for the barbershop this semester and will open up more appointments in the spring.
Connecting with students of color on Green Bay campuses is the latest example of how Starz owner, Chris Kimbrough, connects his barbershop with the community. He keeps his shop open late some days so school-age kids can get haircuts or he holds discussions outside the shop with community members.
He wanted to offer appointments at St. Norbert and UW-Green Bay to make haircuts more accessible and safer for students instead of driving over to one of the locations off campus, especially if the student is new to the city.
“They're not traveling over the highways especially during the snowstorms we have here,” Kimbrough said.
The services are also more affordable for students because they get a discount on campus.
'A ‘feel like home’ kind of feeling'
The idea to have a barber on St. Norbert’s campus came about so students wouldn’t have to wait until winter or summer break to get a haircut back home, said Victoria McNeal, program coordinator for Black student support.
“During my undergrad (at St. Norbert), I had a few friends who chose to wait until they went home to get their haircut because through some of their experiences going to different barbershops in the area, they didn't see or get a chance to meet different stylists who were able to accommodate their hair,” McNeal said.
The college has already had several sessions and all the appointments were booked up quickly.
St. Norbert College junior Jordan May is the president of Men of Distinction, a leadership program for male students of color that provides student mentorship and welcome opportunities on campus. The group worked with Multicultural Student Services to bring Starz to campus.
When May was a freshman, seniors in Men of Distinction would drive him to Starz off campus with them, but not every freshman hears about barbershops in the area, May said.
“It makes the newcomer students feel more secure. Usually back home, we're used to having these types of barbershops all over," May said. "It gives you a 'feel like home' kind of feeling."
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A community space for students of color
The barbershop is also available as a resource and provides more than a haircut for students.
“Sometimes students don’t talk to the professor. They look at the professor as parents sometimes,” Kimbrough said. “But they’ll talk to the barber, to the beautician about certain issues.”
McNeal remembers hearing about the conversations her brother would have at his barbershop when their dad would take him to get his haircut every other Saturday while they were growing up. She’s glad she is now able to bring that support to students in Green Bay.
The barbers will ask students where they’re from, how they like the school, their classes, and much more — bringing the life and confidence of a barbershop to campus.
“If you know the history of barbers, we were your first big brother, your big sisters, your counselors," Kimbrough said. "We did a lot in the community."
Having a community leader like Kimbrough available for students is also important for students to be able to look up to.
"He's a successful business owner and an entrepreneur. That's going to speak to our students," King said.
As students stop by to get their hair done, they may start talking to the person ahead of them in line or others just hanging out.
May or a few other members of Men of Distinction usually stay at the barbershop when it’s holding a session at St. Norbert, taking the opportunity to introduce the group to students as well.
“It's a safe place,” May said.
St. Norbert College is hoping to move the barbershop area to a larger space and expand it soon. The grand opening for the barbershop at UW-Green Bay is set for the first week of February.
Contact Benita Mathew at bmathew@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @benita_mathew.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Starz Barber & Beauty comes to St. Norbert and UW-Green Bay
