Meet Cuck Fancer: The frat initiative shaving heads on campus
You wouldn’t believe how many times I accidentally typed the F-word writing this
Unless you’re blind (and if you are that’s totally cool), you’ve probably noticed the bright, lime green Cuck Fancer tent, bracelets, and t-shirts on campus this week. But this tent isn’t just a bunch of frat guys promoting something, it’s… Actually that’s kind of what it is. But keep reading.
Cuck Fancer is a non-profit organization started by cancer survivor Ben Teller—one of UCI’s own alumni. The organization was founded just over five years ago when an 18-year-old Ben Teller was diagnosed (for the first of three times) with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Facing the difficulties of battling cancer while dealing with the emotional and financial stresses of being a college student, he became aware of the lack of resources and support for young adults battling cancer.
Enter Cuck Fancer.
Teller decided to take action on this highly personal cause by creating an organization to raise money, awareness and resources for young adults like himself battling cancer. Teller utilized the aesthetically pleasing lime green color (the designated Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma ribbon color), and began selling bracelets and t-shirts to fundraise for the cause.
Teller has since cultivated a team that has expanded the organization to numerous California universities including UC Davis, UC San Diego, UC Riverside, Cal Berkeley, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The non-profit now not only sells Cuck Fancer apparel, but they raise money for grants and scholarships for college students battling cancer, and recruit people to be swabbed for a bone marrow transplant registry. Teller himself is a success story for bone marrow transplants.
UCI fraternities Alpha Epsilon Pi (Teller’s own fraternity), and PIKE have teamed up with the organization to help spread awareness, recruit bone marrow swabees (that’s the medical term right?), and fundraise for grants and scholarships. The Cuck Fancer tent also has multiple barbers on stand by so that students can shave their heads in light of awareness and support.
Alex Silver, an AEPi member and frontrunner for the cause, believes the organization is a great platform for students who have been personally affected. He said: “Everyday at every campus we go to people will come up to the booth and open up, and share their own personal stories.”
With the help of AEPi, PIKE and others, Cuck Fancer has raised over $20,000 over the past two years at UCI, and they’re aiming even higher this year.
“I was able to meet Ben Teller last year,” said AEPi member Jeremy Babich, “This cause is something that is very personal to me for many reasons, so I’ve been helping out ever since I met Ben.”
On the Cuck Fancer website and Facebook page, Teller has created profiles of some of the individuals who have shared their stories with him. You can also find more specific information on the grants and scholarships available, and their worthy recipients.
“You won’t see any fraternity related stuff at our booth,” said Silver. “We put the fraternity ideals aside, and just really focus on the philanthropy, the cause, getting donors, and raising money. That’s what it’s all about.”