Students Compete for Title of Mr. and Ms. Mason
Story by Connect2Mason Reporter Lauren Jost. Photos by Teddy Meyer.
Take the chorus of “Never Gonna Give You Up,” mix with songs from Mulan, Beyoncé, and Madonna; finish with Britney Spears’ “Womanizer” lip-synched by a drag queen. This was the scene of Mason’s Homecoming Pageant “Swagger of a Champion” which occurred last night in Dewberry Hall. Five Mason contestants vied for the titles of Mr. and Ms. Mason in a series of competitions in talent, formalwear, trivia, and personal interview.
Miss Virginia 2009 Mae Phillips introduced the five contestants for the talent portion of the evening, beginning with “Light the Night” participant Mariam Al-Koshnaw who sang a jazzy version of “Fever.”
Second was Alpha Lambda Delta member Anthony DiCarlo, who chose to serenade the audience with the 1987 Rick Astley hit "Never Gonna Give You Up" while dancing in front of judge Rachel Siditsky of the Housing and Residence Life Office.
Sporting a glittered silver bra, blonde wig, and fierce zebra pants was Pride Alliance and Drag Show host Reann Ballslee (Ryan Allen) who strutted to Britney Spears’ “Womanizer.” Ballslee danced her way through the crowd, taking time out of performing to write her phone number and plant a kiss on a reporter’s notepad.
“Reann was by far my favorite,” said junior religious studies major Kaitlin Owen. “Britney Spears is my idol and I adored her portrayal.”
Ricky Malebranche, a Mason Ambassador, appeared onstage clad in samurai garb to begin his medley with “I’ll Make A Man Out Of You” from the Disney film, Mulan. Marlebrance finished with a rendition of Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” and N*SYNC’s “Bye, Bye, Bye.”
Last to take the stage was junior Masonette Cragin Winkler who performed a break-dance parody to a selection of popular rap songs.
Before contestants transitioned into formalwear, Phillips asked the crowd to shout out their favorite so far and the crowd overwhelmingly screamed “REANN!”
The potential Mr. and Ms. Masons strode onstage in ball gowns and tuxedos, then showed off their fancy threads. After the contestants modeled their formalwear, Phillips asked contestants trivia and personal interview questions.
“Mason Day, my freshman year, was the best experience I’ve had. I’ll leave it up to the audience to say why,” commented DiCarlo when asked what his favorite Mason memory was.
Phillips asked Winkler what it means to be a Patriot. “World peace?” responded Winkler in pageantry style. “It means all I can be as a college student.”
Winners of the pageant titles will be unveiled at the Homecoming game on Feb. 14. Until then, fans can vote for their favorite contestant in the Johnson Center or online through student e-mail accounts.
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