Pageant contestants from 15 different Christopher Newport University campus organizations will wow audiences and judges in Zeta Tau Alpha sorority’s upcoming Big Man On Campus.
The second annual pageant, held on Friday, Oct. 27 in Gaines Theater, will benefit ZTA’s philanthropy, breast cancer education and awareness.
Contestants will answer pageant questions and show off their finest Pink Out attire for the Think Pink fashion show.
“We’re just very excited to see what all the contestants will come up with this year for their acts,” says event organizer and ZTA President Lillemor Eng.
This is Eng’s second year of helping to organize the event and she says this year will look a little different. Instead of having a talent portion of the show, contestants will lip sync to a song of their choice and can even have backup dancers to make their performance a true showstopper.
The panel of judges deciding who takes home the title of Big Man On Campus consists of CNU psychology professor Jeffrey Niehaus, ZTA Province President Katy Carlsward and ZTA alumna Adrianna Bryan. In addition, there will be a chance for the audience to show their spirit and enthusiasm by cheering for their organization’s contestant; whoever receives the loudest applause wins the fan favorite portion of the event.
Not only are there more contestants this year – 15 participants versus last year’s 11 – but some new organizations will participate for the very first time.
One such organization is Alpha Psi Omega, the National Theater Honor Fraternity at CNU.
“Last year, somebody approached me to be Big Man on Campus for one of the sororities, but I had to turn it down because I was a little busy that semester,” says CNU senior John Byrd, who will represent APO. “So this year I decided it’s senior year, why not?”
Byrd is most looking forward to the lip sync portion of the competition and seeing his fellow contestants dance.
Several organizations who competed in last year’s pageant will be returning with a new contestant to represent them.
“I was asked by a couple friends to support GPhi and I was really nervous about it, but they gave me some encouragement so I decided I should do it and step outside of my comfort zone,” says junior Jake Reimann on participating as a representative of Gamma Phi Beta, a returning organization.
Contestants come from a variety of campus organizations, including Greek life, The Marching Captains and Trebled Youth.
“I’m really excited for the fashion show portion of it,” says senior Kemari Effiong, who is participating on behalf of Trebled Youth, a mixed a capella group at CNU. “We’ve been deciding between a bunch of different outfits, but I think that all of them will be really fun.”
This will be the first year that Trebled Youth has participated in Big Man On Campus.
Contestants and their organization can also earn more points towards the pageant by participating in Think Pink Week from Oct. 23-26. During this week, students can visit the David Student Union and support breast cancer awareness through a variety of activities. For example, they will have the opportunity to sign ZTA’s Think Pink ribbon and play bra pong.
The final winner will be crowned Big Man on Campus and receive $100 to be donated to the philanthropy of their choice.
Visit https://zta.crowdchange.co/34042 or @cnuzta on Instagram to buy tickets.
