Getting visibly excited about charity


By Danielle Rideau
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Friday, April 15, 2005

The men held nothing back when they competed for the title of Mr. Greek in Alpha Phi's spring philanthropy for cardiac care organizations.

The Alpha Phi sorority's third annual Mr. Greek competition drew in about 500 people, most of which were greeks, to support their friends and fraternity brothers for the title and bragging rights as the winner of the men's pageant.

The men did everything it took to get high scores from the judges, which was made up of one representative from 11 sororities.

In the opening act, all the men performed a dance together, showing off their dance skills, provocative and otherwise, whether good or bad.

Following the dance segment, the men attempted to rack up the points and get on the judges' good sides with pick-up lines.

The most popular with the judges and the crowd was "Damn girl. Do you work at Subway, because you just gave me a foot-long," from communication freshman, Scott Revey, who represented Kappa Sigma.

Following the pick-up lines, the men competed in a swimsuit competition.

Many tried to emulate the personalities of cowboys, Navy SEALs, police officers and Tom Cruise from "Risky Business." Others tried to get points by showing their backsides or even getting completely naked.

Vinny Lichvar, a political science junior, representing Kappa Sigma fraternity, was scantily dressed as a baseball player, wearing only catcher's gear, baseball socks and a protective cup. After doing a short striptease across the stage, he ripped off what little clothing he was wearing and was standing on the stage with only his hand to cover himself.

Several of the men exposed themselves and performed provocative movements. They said they would do whatever it took to win, and thought that getting naked in the name of charity was acceptable if it raises money.

"If it's for a good cause, you should do anything to raise money," said Joe Divita, an electrical engineering sophomore and president of Sigma Pi.

Ryan Okum of Alpha Epsilon Pi wore a skimpy singlet for the swimsuit competition, and said he was trying his hardest to win, doing "whatever it takes."

Audience members enjoyed the performances, and did not find getting naked in the name of charity offensive.

"Its more of a comedy show than a talent competition," said communication sophomore Kristina Schweinberg. "I think this type of thing is appropriate for college, and they should do whatever it takes to draw a crowd."