Fraternity sponsors pageant
The fraternity also sponsored a powder-puff football tournament last week.
Published April 12, 2005
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. sponsored the 10th annual Miss Black and Gold Scholarship Pageant on Friday night in Stotler Lounge.
The evening began with a choreographed dance number set to Whitney Houston's "I'm Every Woman," in which the 18 court and pageant participants dressed in outfits for different roles for women, ranging from a doctor to a housewife.
"My experience working with the other girls was great," contestant Afton Anderson said. "We did a lot of community service and other projects, and I had a blast working with them. Many of the girls were already my friends, and it made the bond between us even stronger. We were asked to attend forums, which broadened my horizons, and I learned a lot. The Alphas were great, and I had fun working with them, too."
The participants were judged on several criteria: sportswear, evening/formal wear, talent and answering an impromptu question. Talents varied from reciting poetry to interpretive dance, along with voice, violin and piano solos.
Brandon Common, co-chairman of the pageant and Alpha Phi Alpha member, said the fraternity sponsored the pageant to showcase other students.
"The purpose of the Miss Black and Gold Pageant is first to pay tribute to our African-American women and to showcase their unique talents in the best light possible while at the same time providing a chance for them to attain scholarship money," he said.
Court and pageant participants raised more than $3,500 for charities and scholarships. Granny's House and The Boys and Girls Club of Columbia were this year's recipients of the charity money.
"We chose Granny's House because we wanted to give to a small organization that many donors don't realize exists or just don't want to donate to," Alpha Phi Alpha President Ali Ayanaw said. "We chose the Boys and Girls Club because we do a lot of community service there and their basketball hoops were in desperate need of replacement."
Court winners included junior Marquita Patterson, who was named Miss Zeta Alpha, and sophomore Kelly Wheeler, who won Miss 1906. Second runner-up for the pageant was freshman Nailah Sims, who won Miss Ithaca. Freshman Erica Lester won the Miss Black and Gold title and will go on to represent the chapter in the regional pageant.
The pageant was one of the many events the fraternity sponsored last week. Other events included free bowling in Brady Commons, a forum discussion on black male-female relationships, a powder-puff football tournament and an open mic night. The fraternity also took a trip to Hickman High School to inform high school students about the benefits of a college education.
"We focused our week around the motto of our fraternity, 'First Of All, Servants Of All, We Shall Transcend All,'" Ayanaw said. "We wanted to uplift the community, while at the same time being innovative with the events that we put on."