The red carpet rolled out in front of McFarlin Auditorium for 12 SMU men on Nov. 18. Mr. University is an annual male pageant show put on by Pi Beta Phi sorority. This year, all the proceeds went to Heroes for Children, a non-profit organization that provides care for children suffering with cancer, and Manheim’s Heart to Hearts, a program that helps raise money for the Micahel P. Fisher CICU at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Pi Phi’s Philanthropy Chair Allison Chandler loves putting on this event.
“I think that it’s great because it involves everyone on campus. We have twelve different organizations that participated,” She said. “I think it’s a great way for us to raise money especially this year for something that was really close to our pledge sister’s heart since it is her dad’s organizations.”
The twelve contestants were Patrick Probst (Mr. Sigma Phi Epsilon), Gavin Thomson (Mr. Pi Kappa Alpha), Evan Kasper (Mr. Beta Theta Pi), Ricky Townsend (Mr. Chi Omega), Juan Castillo (Mr. Sigma Lambda Beta), William Crouse (Mr. Kappa Alpha Theta), Corbin Swagerty (Mr. Gamma Phi Beta), Andrew Pinkowitz (Mr. Kappa Kappa Gamma), Brian Rose (Mr. Delta Delta Delta), Kyle Padron, (Mr. Delta Gamma) Gerald Fawcett (Mr. Phi Gamma Delta), and Austin Smith (Mr. Sigma Alpha Epsilon).
The show consisted of four main parts. The first was the sportswear portion where each participant is introduced to the audience with a description of his perfect date, an interesting fact, and his favorite pick up line. The talent segment followed with each candidate showcasing his talent. Gerald Fawcett’s, the winner of Mr. University 2010, showed his skills through a remix of the theme song from “The Fresh Prince of Bellaire.”
During the Q&A session, the 12 men show off their formal wear while answering questions like “Why do you want to be Mr. University?” to “What is one quality you cannot tolerate in a woman?” causing them to think on the spot.
The final part of the show was a choreographed dance that all the candidates performed together. Following their dance, guest performances from Sam Mansfield, 2009 Mr. University and Nick Cains, 2009 Mr. Congeniallity.
Although Fawcett snagged winner, others won titles as well. The runner up was Rickey Townsend and Mr. Congeniality went to Austin Smith. Also, Beta Theta Pi was recognized for raising the most money for Pi Phi’s causes.
Pi Phi’s next philanthropy event, “Be and Angel,” will be on Dec. 2 at 5 p.m. in the atriums in Hughes-Trigg.
