With the words “beauty pageant,” the stereotype of dresses and hairspray may pop into mind. However, Mr. Heartthrob, an event put on by the Alpha Phi sorority chapter at Marquette, is not one of those pageants.
Mr. Heartthrob will take place Feb. 27 in the Varsity Theater. Tickets are $5 and are being sold in the Alumni Memorial Union. People can also buy tickets by reaching out to anyone in Alpha Phi.
Amanda Walbert, a sophomore in the College of Nursing and the director of philanthropy for Alpha Phi, said it is a male beauty pageant minus the beauty.
“It’s called Mr. Heartthrob because of our philanthropy. … Alpha Phi supports women’s heart health,” Walbert said.
Walbert said this event is one of her favorite Alpha Phi events.
Any male Marquette student can apply for the Mr. Heartthrob event, which Walbert said is a good way for different people from different organizations to get involved.
“We want people (who participate) to be affiliated with any organization on campus,” Walbert said.
Megan Peterson, a junior in the College of Health Sciences, said she likes that the event emphasizes community.
“We want it to be geared towards getting everyone involved, and we hope we get more people to come,” Peterson said.
This year, Walbert said they have about six contestants from a pool of around 13 applicants. The applicants had to go through an application process, where they were asked questions regarding campus involvement, as well as less serious questions like “What is the cheesiest thing you’ve ever done?” The contestants also get two “coaches” from the Alpha Phi chapter to help them prepare for the pageant.
Walbert said the night will start with the hosts introducing the contestants and the judges, who are from Alpha Phi. Then they move into the lip-sync portion of the evening, followed by other events such as heart health trivia, a talent portion and a pick-up line competition in which contestants try to impress the judges. The winner will receive a prize.
Walbert said she is looking forward to the talent portion this year, especially after seeing last year’s talent.
“Last year someone brought their dog up and did tricks with them, someone sang and some guy rolled around in condiments and shaved Alpha Phi into his chest,” Walbert said.
Oliwia Burda, a sophomore in the College of Health Sciences, is also excited to see the talent portion this year along with the pick up line portion.
“I liked seeing their talents like seeing them sing and play guitar,” Burda said.
The sophomore added that she also likes that the event represents a unity that isn’t just connected to Alpha Phi.
“It’s not just Alpha Phi … it’s cool to get other chapters on campus and those not even in Greek life,” Burda said.
Peterson said she is especially excited to see how much money they raise. It’s events like this that allow Alpha Phi to raise money throughout the year for things like scholarships and raising awareness for women’s heart health.
“We don’t necessarily have a goal,” Peterson said. “We have the total number we raised for the whole year.”
Last year they raised $21,000.
This story was written by Ariana Madson. She can be reached at [email protected].
