• The Alpha Chi Omega sorority hosted the third annual Mr. Omega Man pageant Sunday.
• The winner was Chris Szalkowski, who read an original Dr. Seuss-style poem for his talent.
• The theme of the event was fostering healthy relationships.
• The $800 raised will be given to the sorority's national charity, the Sojourner Truth House.

Typically, pageants are competitions among females. But the Alpha Chi Omega sorority and the Center for Health Education and Promotion turned the tables Sunday afternoon in the Varsity Theatre by hosting the third annual Mr. Omega Man competition.

All nine contestants represented campus organizations, including fraternities, student offices and student media. The contestants were nominated by members of Alpha Chi Omega.

The event raised $800 for the Sojourner Truth House, the sorority's national charity, said Mr. Omega Man chair and College of Business Administration senior Samantha Toigo. The charity provides support and shelter to women who suffer from domestic violence.

The main theme of the event was building and maintaining healthy relationships. Contestants were required to dress in casual and formal wear, answer questions and showcase a talent.

Kristen Krapfl, a senior in the College of Health Sciences and competition judge representing Alpha Chi Omega, said some of the criteria she used to judge the contestants were poise, sense of style, politeness, preparedness and effort.

Other things she took into consideration were how each candidate represented his organization, self expression through talent and questioning, and how well the candidate embodied the values and ideals of Marquette.

"It wasn't hard to give high scores to all of the amazing men in the competition," Krapfl said.

Krapfl was one of five judges, including council presidents, a peer health educator and 2008 Mr. Omega Man winner Ray Redlingshafer, a senior in the College of Business Administration.

In the end, Chris Szalkowski, a junior in the College of Health Sciences, won the competition. He said what made him different from the rest of the contestants was his confidence and ability to not simply speak to the audience, but to engage them as well.

"He was very aware of the focus on healthy relationships that was the basis for the competition, he was polite, and he had great charisma and stage presence," Krapfl said.

For the talent part of the competition, Szalkowski wrote an original poem about Greek life in the style of Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel). He said he chose such a poem because Dr. Seuss is an alumnus of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, to which Szalkowski belongs.

He said the style of poem allowed room for him to show his artistic side. Szalkowski read his poem from a self-illustrated book.

Planning for the Mr. Omega Man competition began in December, Toigo said.