Helen Strickland/ Photo by Claire Davis
Members of TNT men’s social club shaved their heads in memory of the late Avery Martin, a senior who died in October. Martin had planned to shave his head Nov. 3 following his planned engagement photos Nov. 2.
Senior Bradley Cole was Martin’s roommate. Martin was in TNT social club, and he told Cole he would ask new members to shave his head during club week.
This gave Cole the idea to shave his head in Martin’s memory. He then shared the idea with other TNT members.
“I just threw the idea out there,” Cole said.
Cole gave buzz cuts to 27 TNT members and himself in an Allen dorm study room. Two other members also shaved their heads later.
Junior Ben Garrett was one of the first to have his head shaved, and he said Cole proposed the idea at a club meeting.
“I think it brought a lot of us closer and gave us a greater purpose to make the connection we felt with Avery to be passed down as a legacy for our new members,” Garrett said.
Club sponsor Garrett Escue expressed his appreciation.
“When I heard the idea, I was really excited that the guys wanted to honor Avery in this way,” Escue said. “Avery was a very focused and driven young man, but he also knew how to have fun. TNT takes tradition very seriously, and I would not be surprised to see more shaved heads in the years to come.”
Junior Luke Miller also got a buzz cut. He said his pledge class, who joined TNT alongside Martin, chose to shave their heads in his honor.
“We knew that this is something that he would have loved as he talked a lot about trying to get everyone to shave their heads for club week,” Miller said. “I was kind of skeptical of it at first, but once one person did it, I knew it was a good idea.”
Junior Tucker Steed said he did not originally plan to shave his head but was encouraged to by his friends and girlfriend. He reflected positively on the decision.
“I think this really shows the brotherhood part of being in a men’s social club,” Steed said. “It’s not about making yourself look good, but it’s about honoring each other above yourselves.”
Miller emphasized the communal value of this decision.
“I’m proud of our class being able to come together to honor one of our members,” Miller said. “To me, this is what TNT is about.”
Steed spoke highly of Martin and reflected on the value of acts like this one in a community.
“I know that Avery would have done this for us in an instant,” Steed said. “Gestures and acts of love like this are just table stakes if you want to build relationships that last a lifetime like we are doing in TNT.”
