By Maya Butler | Reporter
The men of Baylor dazzled in pink ensembles on stage at 7 p.m. Thursday in Waco Hall for Zeta Tau Alpha’s sixth annual Big Man on Campus.
Members of Zeta organize the male beauty pageant show every year as a fundraising event for their philanthropy, Breast Cancer Education and Awareness.
Houston sophomore Daniel Beuses won the coveted title of Big Man on Campus and represented the sorority Alpha Chi Omega. Audience members voted the title of Mr. Congeniality to Oakland, Calif., sophomore Johnny Grillos, who represented the fraternity Pi Kappa Phi. Both winners received $400 for their philanthropy.
Several of the 24 fraternity members chosen for the pageant represented sororities on campus, while others represented their fraternity organization. Four breast cancer survivors served as judges that night.
The MC of the night, breast cancer survivor Carol Hardy, explained how Big Man on Campus contributes to raising awareness and funds for the philanthropy.
“Everyone knows someone … either they’ve been through cancer or they know someone who’s been through cancer,” Hardy said. “This is one way that they can contribute and it’s a fun way to celebrate life and to still get money towards breast cancer.”
The male participants started off the show with a group dance to a medley of hit pop songs. A question-and-answer portion followed, where topics included the men revealing their favorite guilty pleasure, favorite pick-up line and which Disney princess they related to the most. The third and final segment featured fraternity members trying to outperform one another in a lip-sync battle.
During the show, raffle prizes were announced, including a $100 gift card to Tiff’s Treats, a $40 Chick-fil-a gift card and even a basket of jewelry shipped from New York.
Students watched the event free of charge, with funds raised from raffle tickets, sponsorships, T-shirts and donations.
Upper Saddle River, N.J., senior Elena Pappas, Zeta’s philanthropy chair, talked about the sorority’s decision to start the pageant six years ago.
“We knew the kind of atmosphere, the kind of people that get involved in our events normally, and we thought this one could be very beneficial,” Pappas said. “It could be a very good way to get to a lot of other organizations and a lot of other people on the Baylor community involved.”
Frisco junior Taylor Cheers said her favorite part was different organizations gathering together for the purpose of philanthropy.
“It just shows that even though we might all have different experiences in life, we do have many commonalities,” Cheers said. “Sadly, breast cancer is something that affects so many people and this kind of shows that all of us are here to get behind a cause that’s really dear to our hearts.”
