Author: Jessica Gelzer
Last Friday night, April 3, the Cooler was filled with screaming fans and inquisitive observers to watch Alpha Male, an annual mock male beauty pageant. Hosted by the Alpha Lambda Phi Alpha sorority (Alpha), all proceeds from the event go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for the Cure, a leader in the fight against breast cancer. This year 800 dollars were raised.
“This year was our most successful year of Alpha Male [. . .] we are so proud and grateful to be able to give that to the Susan G. Komen Foundation!” former social chair of Alpha Natasha Jones (senior) said.
Members of the Alpha sorority nominated about 40 contestants for Alpha Male, eventually narrowing it down to 20. The voting then turned to Oxy students, who chose their favorite contestants for the cost of a quarter. This years contestants included: Nick Lee, Seth Hansen, Juan German, Barry Ennis, Justin Morgan, Patrick Braithwaite, Andreas Bloomquist, Michael Darling, Jacob Berry and Victor Kali.
In regards to being chosen, Jacob Berry (sophomore) said, “I was pleasantly surprised and excited to be participating. Aside from the silly fun and games, it’s nice to take part in an event that raises money for such a good cause.”
“I wasn’t surprised when I was chosen for Alpha Male, it was a question of when rather than if,” Nick Lee (junior) said.Judges of the pageant included ASOC President Patrick McCredie (senior), Campus Safety Officer Barry Hardin and Campus Dining staff member Kathy Lauriha, who was wooed by the men throughout the night.
“I’ve been a judge for several years and it’s just great,” Lauriha said.
Each contestant had a coach from Alpha to prepare them for the show and its individual components. During the event, coaches publicized their contestant and passed out banners and flyers. Kendall Jones (sophomore) coached Hansen as a way to get involved with a cause she believed in. “I think the funniest part of training Seth was telling him that anything he said had to be acceptable to say in front of Kathy,” Jones said.
The MCs of the event were Jessica Yant (senior) and Ross Arias (sophomore), last year’s Alpha Male winner. Throughout the night they kept the energy level high with audience participation, from dance-offs to make-your-own-toga in 3 minutes.
During the first part of the pageant, contestants were introduced to the audience in formal attire. Each walked down the runway in suits and ties, and struck an original pose. Morgan had roses for girls in the audience and a special one just for Kathy.
Next was the talent portion of the evening. On a makeshift Taiko Drum, Lee performed traditional Japanese music. Hansen continued the drumming on an assortment of kitchenware strapped to his body. Ennis had an act for each of the judges: a serenade for Kathy, a sampling of the sounds of the electric fiddle for Hardin and a strip tease for McCredie. Other talents ranged from raps, to dances, to cane-twirling. The audience erupted in song when Kali sang Backstreet Boys accompanied by the acoustical likes of Michael Kutan (sophomore).
This childhood nostalgia continued into the Superhero portion of the night, with Morgan dressed as Quailman of the Nickelodeon series, Doug, and German dressed as Raphael of the Ninja Turtles. Others invented their own superheroes with Bloomquist as “Boogeyman,” saving people from unwanted people in bars, Braithwaite as “SuperDrag,” turning men into drag queens in a flash and Berry as Dr. Pepper, who saves people from bland food and breathes pepper spray.
At this time Berry, Bloomquist, Hansen and German were cut, by way of judge’s tallies, leading into the Oxy Pride portion. This section brought out the creativity and spirit within the remaining contestants with cheers and dances. Lee recited an ode to Oxy while adorned in orange gear. Morgan did an Obama impression, forgetting to mention the influence of Occidental in his life. Darling, in a coat of Occidental Weekly papers, said, “I am Oxy Weekly. This just in: Occidental rocks!”
After a Dance-Off portion, Kali, Lee and Braithwaite were cut, leaving Darling, Ennis and Morgan as the final three contestants. As an aside from the judges’ opinions, the audience voted Kali as Mr. Congeniality by way of claps and screams.
The final section of the night was question and answer. McCredie asked what policy reforms the contestants would make to Oxy. Lauriha inquired what they thought the worst part of the Marketplace was. Hardin wondered what their worst complaint about Campus Safety was. Each answer was careful not to offend the inquirer, please the audience, and of course, whenever possible, compliment Lauriha.
At completion of the show, votes and points were tallied. Second runner-up was Morgan and first runner-up, Darling. This left Arias to pass the Alpha Male crown onto Ennis. His prize was two free hours of Billiards for him and twenty other friends at Jakes Diner and Billiard Club in Pasadena.
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