Two of Dartmouth's finest were crowned last night in the first annual "Mr. and Ms. Big Green" school spirit competition, in which candidates tested their talents on the dance floor and runway alike. The event, held in Collis Common Ground and inspired by the annual Mr. Yale competition at Yale University, was designed to celebrate Dartmouth spirit while contributing to charity.
Shayla Mars '11 and Daniel Moore '10 were the eventual winners, although Garrett Simpson '11 stole the show by incorporating streakers into his performance.
Each of the six men and women participating in the contest had to adverstise the cause of his or her choice, ranging from DREAM to Grassroots Soccer. Moore supported Dance for a Dream while Mars' win will benefit the Tucker Foundation Alternative Spring Break trip to Mississippi.
The two winners each received $75 Canoe Club gift certificates, $100 to the charity of their choice and the DASH money donated by the audience for the winners' causes during the competition.
"We wanted the event to be meaningful besides just having fun," Molly Bode '09, one of the event's organizers, said.
Other contestants included Genevieve Adams '11 , Lauren Bennett '08, Peter Bonanno '08, Rembert Browne '09, Jonathan Hopper '08, Hayley Kennedy '08, Sarah Leners '09, Ty Moddelmog '08 and Alison Rope '10. Kennedy and Browne are members of The Dartmouth staff.
Contestants participated in coordinated dancing, a flair walk-off, a talent show, a question-and-answer portion and a formalwear section.
"It's a great way to get people together to celebrate Dartmouth," organizer Uthman Olagoke '11 said of the event.
Only students who were nominated, either by themselves or other students, were eligible for the Mr. and Ms. Big Green competition. Bode estimated that she received approximately 40 applications for the 12 spots.
"It's definitely not a popularity contest or a beauty contest," Bode said. "That's the last thing we want it to be construed as. It's a pageant-parody -- we just want people to fool around and have fun, to express themselves in a Dartmouth context."
The event was styled after Dartmouth's Outing Club freshman trips, including colorful enthusiasm and a strong emphasis on flair and humor, according to Bode. She added that one of the contest's goals was to display the vibrancy of Dartmouth by featuring people of different backgrounds and experiences.
"There will be a full spectrum of people,"Miesha Smith '09, another organizer, said before the event. "We want to embrace what Dartmouth culture really is, and it's open to all classes, genders and sexual orientations."
To that end, the judges panel employed a member of the Dog Day Players, a varsity athlete, a comic artist and the Dartmouth moose. Crowd enthusiasm, however, was intended to be the deciding factor in judges' decisions.
The Dartmouth competition was similar to the Mr. Yale competition, an event that is characterized by excitement and crowd interaction, according to sophomore Yale student and Mr. Yale candidate Andy Shumaker.
"The energy in the room was incredible," Shumaker said of Yale's event.
Although the Mr. Yale competition is similarly based on humor and includes "juggling, ostentatious singing, cross-dressing, shameless skin-showing and Harvard-bashing," Shumaker said, the key difference between Yale's and the Dartmouth's competition is the inclusion of women at Dartmouth.
Another difference between the two competitions, Olagoke said, is Mr. and Ms. Big Green's emphasis on flair, such as a flair runway walk-off, and the exclusion of faculty members from the Dartmouth judging panel.
Still present, however, is the promise of glory that the title of Mr. and Ms. Big Green brings.
"In reality, the incentive for competing was to secure celebrity status and to coin conversational currency to exchange with the ladies," Shumaker said. "I have exploited both benefits with great success!"
