When a wicked witch descends upon the land and casts a spell over all our children, there’s only one who can free us from evil. Last night’s Mr. University brought us 10 charming princes to compete for the crown of Mr. University and defender of the kingdom, proving their courage against the evil witch. We watched them come forth in true fairy tale fashion, dressed as everything from a frog prince to Rafiki to the Mad Hatter (though I’m not sure how I felt about the excess of men in tights…). Wooed with song and dance and timeless Disney clips, it wasn’t long before we saw the true heroes of the night. But who would surpass the rest?
Without further ado, our heroes…
Mr. AEPI – Ben Jacobson
Mr. Alpha Delt – Chris Williams
Mr. AOII – Mike Casey
Mr. DU – Sinclair Lee III
Mr. Lambda – Jason Wang
Mr. Phi Delt – Andrew Angeles
Mr. Phinix – Cameron Okeke
Mr. Psi U – Adam Shamlian
Mr. Sig Ep – Aaron Ackerman
Mr. Sigma Chi – Dennis Wiater
Hosted by the lovely ladies of Kappa Alpha Theta, Andrea Bischof was the wicked witch and Esther Wu the good witch, guiding us through the treacherous waters of male competition. Three judges, one from the University, KAQ, and CASA, qualified each portion of the night including introductions, talent, formal wear, and for the final five contestants, a Q&A session. While the night was one of costume for our princes and princesses, their cause is very real and very honorable. CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates, an organization that pairs one advocate with one child in the foster care system to serve as a voice in the courtroom and a constant in his or her often-tumultuous life.
If you weren’t there last night, you missed out on a phenomenal rendition of the Circle of Life, replete with Symba lifted into the air by a fellow Psi U brother, Rafiki singing, and a host of ‘animals’ paying homage to their new king. Mr. AOPi serenaded us with none other than the Biebs himself while Mr. DU went old school with some timeless Frank Sinatra. We also got to see Mr. Lambda and his brothers perform the unlikely but impressive combination of Thrift Shop, Beyonce, and Gangnam Style, which even KAQ’s president Stephanie Muy couldn’t help but join in for. Who knew we had such happy, singing, dancing men on campus? I can’t say I didn’t enjoy it, and it’s no wonder Mandel Hall was more packed than I’ve ever seen it. Nothing like organizational pride to bring out intense cheering, war paint, and classy threads.
Despite the impressive array of talent, a winner had to be chosen. Our ten contestants were narrowed down to five: Mr. Phinix, Mr. Lambda, Mr. AOPi, Mr. Sigma Chi, and Mr. Psi U. While all quite worthy, our judges looked at overall fundraising from raffle sales, donations, and penny wars in addition to the performances, and named the top three. Mr. Congeniality for most invested proponent of Theta’s cause, CASA, went to Mr. Lambda, Jason Wang. Runner up went to Mr. Sigma Chi, Dennis Wiater, and the crown for KAQ’s 2013 Mr. University went to…drumroll, please…Mr. AOPi! For the first time in Mr. University at UChicago history, a contestant entered on behalf of a sorority – and much to the excitement and pride of AOPi, he won! While for most of us, Mr. U consisted of a 2 hour spectacular of perfected performances and transitions, we owe Theta applause for their phenomenal months of preparation, marketing, fundraising, and working with contestants to ultimately entertain a massive audience and, most importantly (and impressively), raise over $14,000 for CASA.