From The Sentonian of Seton Hall University
Pirate King raises money for cystic fibrosis by Brittany Biesiada
Anyone interested in seeing eight men participating in a beauty pageant could be found in the Main Lounge on Tuesday night as Delta Phi Epsilon hosted the annual “Pirate King” competition, with all proceeds going to their philanthropy, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
The event was Mardi Gras-themed, called “A Night in Carnivale Town.”
Ricky Evans took the crown for Psi Sigma Phi for the third year in a row. Jonathan Hernandez, from Phi Kappa Theta, was selected as the People’s Choice Winner. Stephen White, representing Sigma Pi, was named first Runner-Up. Anthony Ambrose, from Zeta Psi, and Patrick Donnelly, representing Alpha Phi, tied for second Runner-Up.
Eight contestants from various organizations competed for the title of Pirate King. The first, second and third place contestants won monetary prizes. The People’s Choice winner received his entrance fee back.
Lauren Ludwig, vice president of programming of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority, oversaw the planning for Pirate King. She estimated that at least 140 people attended, raising about $700-800 dollars for Cystic Fibrosis.
“The planning has been going on since at least the beginning of the semester,” Ludwig said. “Erica Scavone and Samantha Bennett, the philanthropy co-chairs, were in charge of organizing the event and did an excellent job.”
Many of the contestants decided to participate in order to show pride for their fraternities.
“I decided to represent and volunteer for my organization because the girls from D Phi E have this event every year and its for a good cause to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis,” Hernandez said.
The program opened with each contestant, escorted by a senior Delta Phi Epsilon sister, appearing in business wear. They were introduced by host junior Jaime Earl, a junior Delta Phi Epsilon member.
The event quickly moved to the most popular portion of the evening, the Talent showcase.
Ambrose discovered late Tuesday afternoon that his fraternity, Zeta Psi, needed a representative, so he decided to volunteer. He made his talent selection, playing a cover of Yellowcard’s “Ocean Avenue” on the spot.
“I've never played it live, so it was an interesting song to throw out there,” Ambrose said.
The talent section featured the dancing stylings of three contestants.
Contestants then returned to the stage in formal wear and participated in a Question and Answer period. The questions ranged from the contestant’s role model to where they see themselves in 10 years to the first thing they would do if elected president.
During the scoring break, Shannon O’Donnell, a student and a Pirate King judge, spoke about Cystic Fibrosis living with the disease. The disease affects 70,000 people and the possibility of research could prolong the life expectancy of those diagnosed.
“Thirty-seven was not the age,” O’Donnell said. “Twenty was. I’m 21-years-old and I’m still here,” O’Donnell said, to which the audience responded with an overwhelming round of applause.
Following O’Donnell’s speech, Evans was named Pirate King and the Runner-Up were announced.
“I’m glad that I was able to represent the organization [PSP] and win our third year in a row,” Evans said. “This was something I was looking forward to all year.”
“I thought the event went amazingly,” White said. “Each and every one of the contestants brought something different to the table and each knew how to work the crowd in their own way. Even though I was happy with coming in second, I'm coming back to next year to claim what should have been mine.”
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