In sociology, there's a concept known as the 'third place'. The first place is your home, the second place is your work and then the third place is something that separates those two and, theoretically, provide a sense of community. The gym, the library, a favorite restaurant, the list of third places goes on and on, but the crux remains the same – a place for connection.
 
The conversation about third places comes from Tyson Stenzel, the owner of a form of third place in Dark Star Barbers, a barbershop located off Vancouver Way here in Portland. The importance of third places is something Stenzel feels strongly about, saying that third places that are accessible to the communities they're embedded in are crucial in creating bonds that have been lost in the last few years.
 
"I think, as Americans, we, especially post-COVID, don't have or utilize enough these meeting places that we have," Stenzel said. "So, if we have an opportunity where we can bring people together where there aren't barriers of cost or certain expectations and that people from all walks of life can come and be together, I think that's crucial to being a part of a community and moving forward in this weird, modern world that we live in."
 
University of Portland was that third place for a few hours this past Saturday. As Portland men's basketball cruised to a 78-64 win in their WCC opener against the Pacific Tigers, several kids participating in Portland Interscholastic League (PIL) and Roosevelt Youth Sports got free haircuts from Dark Star Barbers as part of Courtside Cuts, a first-time event for University of Portland Athletics and an opportunity for rebuilding that sense of community.
 
Jaeger Vega, the Youth Cluster Coordinator/Athletic Director for Roosevelt Youth Sports, played a key role in organizing the event. Vega took on her director role last year and connected with UP Athletics' Manager of Ticket Sales and Services Josh Craggs around that time, with Craggs helping her youth teams get tickets for Pilot basketball games last season.
 
Vega said she doesn't really remember how Courtside Cuts came about. All she knows is that she must have said something to Craggs about how for the boys, another way to create that VIP feeling that she's seen in the past is bringing in barbers for haircuts. That conversation led to Craggs reaching out to Vega the following year with an idea for what would become Courtside Cuts.
 
"In my years of teaching we've done this where barbers have lined up kids before a dance or before a state game or something," said Vega, who's been a teacher in North Portland for the last 15 years. "I don't really remember sharing that (with Craggs), so this became him and I putting our heads together on what would work and he obviously went with it."

Once they had the idea, they needed someone to cut the hair. That's where Dark Star Barbers comes in. Craggs approached Stenzel, who was immediately intrigued by the idea. He had a connection to UP, with students, staff and faculty alike having come to either Morehouse Barbers – his previous place of work – or Dark Star Barbers for haircuts.
 
The thought of giving back to the community resonated strongly with Stenzel, using his skills to provide a service to the kids of North Portland. Connecting it back to the idea of a third place, Stenzel saw it as a great opportunity to give something to the people he serves.
 
"My big thing is I would hope that everyone knows that my business is part of the community, that we're a part of the neighborhood," Stenzel said. "If I get a few extra clients out of the deal, great, but really at the end of the day, the important thing to me was doing something nice."
 
Keeping all this in mind, Stenzel came to a game in December with his son to scout the Chiles Center and see what was feasible. Afterwards, he talked with Craggs about how they could pull it off. Craggs laid his idea out for Stenzel and went from there.
 
Logistics are crucial in events like this. Vega says that UP being a part of "The Peninsula" means her students should know how to get to campus already. It's about making sure the kids can get in the door once they're there, and UP offering an event like Courtside Cuts makes it possible for them to attend free of charge. Students know about UP and how to get there; it's about making it accessible.
 
"When everybody lives and goes to school on The Peninsula, getting over to UP should be common knowledge," Vega said. "Our kids need to know that that's a college that is accessible and available to them and they need to know how to get there to enjoy games."
 
The next step was figuring out who gets haircuts. Vega emphasized that being an exemplary student should always come before being an athlete. All 12 kids who received haircuts either met or exceeded that standard of academic excellence for PIL youth sports. The student part of student-athlete is something Vega preaches to her students constantly, and she uses the Pilots as an example of that.
 
"They had to be students to get to that level," Vega said to her kids of the Pilots. "They had to be a student before an athlete, and we really promote that mission statement seriously… in 'Student Before Athlete' and building character and becoming the whole human being as an athlete. You become the whole human being and that's how you make it to the level of being a Pilots men's basketball player."
 
Along with a fresh cut, those students were treated to hot dogs and sodas courtside as well. Of the utmost importance for the 12 students who received haircuts -- as well as the 100 tickets Vega gave to kids and families from Roosevelt -- was making it clear that they were the guests of honor that day.

"They are the VIPs," Vega said. "They are the special guests of the night."

With most of the setup provided, the only challenge that Stenzel and his partner, Adam Morehouse, faced was fatigue. Giving 12 haircuts with varying styles is no small task, with Stenzel and Morehouse starting at 4 p.m. and running well past the end of Saturday's game. They continued finishing up haircuts to ensure everyone who signed up got to feel sharp.
 
"The only challenge was just making sure all the kids got what they wanted," Stenzel said. "I think that was the most important thing to us, that everyone got the haircut they wanted and that everyone got a haircut."
 
Going long provided a bonus of sorts for those who stayed. Several UP players happened to be in Chiles after the game and started talking with the kids. Juan Gorosito gave out a pair of shoes. Tyler Harris, coming off a performance that earned him WCC Freshman of the Week, joked and laughed with the kids and talked about music. Coleman Lemke remembered one student, Kingston, from a past event and snagged a picture. Almost the whole team ended up talking with the kids, providing brief mentorship in a way that Vega says the kids will remember.
 
"It was really neat, really meaningful," Vega said. "It's a big deal… you can tell they connect."
 
That connection is what's important in a community like North Portland. Vega says it's vital that her students see people that, frankly, look like them in a place where that isn't always the case.

The latest census data has Portland as a city that is 72.1% White. In the 97203 zip code, that number drops to 55.7%, with the percentage of Black people living in the area being around 13.2%.
 
Roosevelt High School has a student population of 36% Hispanic or Latino and 15% Black according to data from 2020-21 school year. Vega is candid about it, saying that when her students come to a place like UP and observe the classroom, a lot her students see kids that don't look like them. When they watch the team on the court, that's when they see themselves.
 
"North Portland has many historically underserved families, and it's really for many of our boys to come over and be able to see men that look just like them make it to the college level and play sport," Vega said. "It gives mentorship, it gives hope, it gives belief."

It gives all those things, but just as important is getting that coveted fresh cut. Vega was happy to report that several of the kids were showing off their new hairstyles at school the following Monday, as well as the pictures they got with the team. 

"When you look sharp you feel sharp," Vega said. "They're real happy with the haircuts, taking pictures of each other. A couple of them asked for a picture with their barber, almost like a new friendship."
 
The barber, Stenzel, was more than happy to do it. It's tiring coming to UP to give free haircuts after a long day running a barbershop. But it was more than worth it for the joy he brought to the kids.
 
"Sending a kid off with a smile on their face, that makes me feel good even in my shop on a daily basis," Stenzel said. "So to give it to a kid who may not get another chance at a decent haircut, that feels extra good."
 
Both Vega and Stenzel said they would love to keep the event for the future. Both emphasized the importance of events like this for different reasons. For Stenzel, the Chiles Center became an extension of the barbershop on Saturday. Barbershops are spots where people who might not always get together have a chance to bond while going through something as simple as a haircut together. It's a special concept that broadens the horizons of what might have previously been thought of as possible.
 
 "I think that really extends into this Courtside Cuts event that we did," Stenzel said. "It's gives us the opportunity to come together as a community with people we wouldn't even normally hang out with."
 
For Vega, it's another way for students to feel good about themselves, another avenue to build that community.
 
"It's incredibly important and I think that's what keeps our kids healthy physically, mentally and emotionally," Vega said. "It's a community, it's a village."

So for a few hours on Saturday, the Chiles Center was that third place, that place that tried to provide some of that revitalization of community that Stenzel talks about. At the end of the day, it's events like Courtside Cuts that can make the difference.

"It's really something I believe in," Stenzel said. "That we can start trying to bring communities together again after we've been so broken apart. We can try and do it in our little ways like giving free haircuts courtside at a basketball game."