VILLANOVA, Pa. – Villanova University student Yvonne Nguyen doesn’t think it’s fair that childhood cancer patients lose their hair, so she took a stand against “hair privilege” by shaving her own head.

“One must forego some of their undeserved privileges to provide justice for others,” Nguyen wrote in a recent editorial for The Villanovan. “Are you willing to shave?”

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Nguyen wrote that she shaved her head on St. Patrick’s Day to acknowledge her own privilege of having hair, and to fight against gender oppression, then posted a video of the shave to Facebook for St. Baldrick’s Day to help raise money for cancer research.

“Generally, it has been easy to forget about my privileges, or my unearned access to resources due to my membership in advantaged social groups. However, as a privileged Villanova student, I have the ability and responsibility to recognize my privileges and how I oppress others,” she wrote.

“Shaving my head allowed me to be in solidarity with people undergoing cancer treatment and take time to identify the privileges that I take for granted. Some of these privileges include food, water, shelter, safety, social support, freedom of speech, education and hair.”

She explained that it was a social justice experience at school that goaded her into action. Nguyen wanted to shave her head for two years, but “society’s gender oppression paralyzed me.”

“But, after the Villanova’s Service and Justice Experience I embarked on this semester, I realized more now than ever the imperative need for social justice as I’ve encountered people who endure living on the margins of society,” she wrote. “Shaving my head permitted me to focus and recognize not just my oppression and privilege, but also my power to change the circumstances for me and others.

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“Even though unshackling the chains of oppression and giving up unjustified privileges was a daunting task, I was forced to choose who I wanted to be,” Nguyen wrote. “Would I commit to fight for human rights or tend to my own superficial appearances and status? I chose the former, to be a woman for others.”

Nguyen, a 19-year-old sophomore, told Philly.com’s Stu Bykofsky her obsession with oppression stems mostly from her traditional Vietnamese family, which values long hair for girls.

“I was the most insecure person,” she said. “I was afraid I would not live up to the expectation of an Asian women in society.”

She said the response to her hair shaving video was mostly positive, but claims she was forced to move the video to private after “random white men started posting on it and being insulting.”

Nguyen, who grew up in a lower socioeconomic home in Bridgeport, Conn., said she receives need-based financial aid at Villanova, but still must recognize how her “hair privilege” and other advantages play into her life.

“For example, racially I am an Asian person and in America Asians are (viewed as) somewhat higher in social status than say an African American or a Hispanic,” she said. “I will never be able to understand the plight of an African American in America or a Hispanic. I am privileged in that way.”

Nguyen told Bykofsky she didn’t realize the extent of her privilege until she attended Villanova, and now that she’s aware, she felt compelled to take action.

“Maybe I learned about my privilege in college, in my freshman year when I learned I have easy access to food, water, education, hair, freedom of speech, shelter, things I take for granted,” she said.

“Feeling guilty is a response, but you have to move on from your guilt.”