Zeta Tau Alpha hosted their 4th annual Big Man on Campus Tuesday night.
Big Man on Campus is hosted every year by the ladies of Zeta as a means of raising money for their philanthropy of breast cancer awareness. This allows gentlemen of campus to display their talents, good looks and charisma all while helping out a worthy cause
Christy Lee, a senior member of Zeta, said that she looks forward to Big Man on Campus every year. “The talent is my favorite part. It’s always entertaining whether they are serious or funny. It’s always interesting to see that one talent that wows the audience,” she said.
The night started with Lisa Marie Harris, Zeta’s president, introducing the hosts for the night, Lauren Fielder and Caleb Duke. We then got to meet the four judges, local business owners with ties to the Zeta sorority here in Martin.
The first category was casual wear. This was clothing that the contestants would wear on an average day, whether it was a UTM Spirit shirt or their fraternity’s jersey. These boys displayed class in their casual dress.
The next category was swimwear. The contestants strutted around the stage in what they would wear at the beach or on the river. While doing this, contestants were asked to demonstrate the proper way to give yourself a mammogram.
The hosts described to the audience what each contestant deemed their perfect date.
The 15 contestants were narrowed down to the top 10 as the audience waited for scores to be tallied. Door prizes were handed out. The remaining contestants then displayed their talent for the judges. Their impressive skills ranged from the more traditional kind such as singing or dancing to more exotic kind, like the contestant catching 10 marshmallows in his mouth.
Intermission took place as the judges’ scores were being tallied. The audience had the opportunity to donate money to the contestants’ jars. The contestant with the most money in his jar would win Mr. Charitable. More door prizes were also given out at this time.
The contestants were again narrowed down to the top five. The remaining contestants then displayed how they would dress in a formal environment. The host then described to the audience why each contestant believed they should be the one to wear the crown of Big Man on Campus.
This was followed up by a question and answer portion. Contestants drew questions from a bowl and were asked to answer them on stage.
Mr. Charitable went to Dezie Gude who represented his brothers of Phi Sigma Kappa. The Big Man on Campus crown went to Mark Maloney who represented his brothers at Sigma Phi Epsilon.
Maloney, a four-time veteran of Big Man on Campus had this to say when asked about his win: “I’m glad I won, but the reason I compete is for the cause. I know how I’ve been impacted by breast cancer in my life through my friend and family, and if given the opportunity I would come back and compete next year.”
