The “Miss Aphrodite” beauty pageant is getting a makeover — the competition is now open to all female students, not only those in a sorority.
The Delta Chi fraternity will host its eighth annual competition at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday at the Days Inn on Front Street. The pageant will raise money for Autism Speaks and the Jimmy V Foundation.
Jason Gul, a member of Delta Chi and a senior majoring in management, said they wanted to make the event appealing to more students.
“The competition is open to all girls this year in order to attract more people to the event, thus raising more money for charity,” Gul wrote in an email to Pipe Dream. “We also believe that more contestants will make the show more exciting.”
Deanna Dunne, a junior majoring in integrative neuroscience, is participating in the event. She has been a member of the sorority Delta Phi Epsilon since spring 2010.
“I love being on stage,” Dunne wrote in an email to Pipe Dream. “I’m also a member of the Pappy Parker Players improv comedy group, and I knew it was something I would be good at and wanted to do.”
The women competing in the pageant receive points in two ways — the main competition and penny wars. About 15 percent of the points come from penny wars, a competition held simultaneously with the main event that allows people to put pennies into bins with each girl’s face on it.
“There’s no set amount but the girl who raises the most gets the most points and then there’s a $75 entrance fee for each contestant,” Dunne wrote.
Rachel Boracci, a junior majoring in economics, is also participating in the event for her sorority Phi Sigma Sigma. Boracci has been a member since fall 2010, and said she believes the pageant is a great way for sororities to help those in need.
“I think this pageant is a great opportunity for the sororities to represent themselves in a positive light by showing off their creativity and talent through this pageant,” Boracci wrote in an email. “It is also a great way for the representative from each sorority to break out of their shell and show just what hard work and determination can do.”
Samantha Alhante, a non-sorority competitor and a senior majoring in economics, is looking forward to the event.
“I’m not in a sorority, I’m representing the power of the individual,” Alhante said. “One of my good friends was in charge of it a while ago, so she triggered my interest in the competition.”
Regular admission tickets are $8 per person, $10 per person at the door and $7 per person for block seating, which is usually purchased by fraternities and sororities, according to Gul.
“The money for charity is coming from the money collected from admission, money raised through the Penny Wars competition and money collected from ad space taken in the event’s pamphlet,” Gul said.