Last Thursday night in the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center, 26 of the most attractive male Brandeisians strutted the catwalk, performed their talents and answered on-the-spot questions in the first-ever Mr. Brandeis Pageant. All proceeds from the event went to Relay For Life and the American Cancer Society. The turnout was huge-the crowd filled most of the Gosman bleachers.

The event started off with all the contestants in a choreographed dance to The Weather Girls' "It's Raining Men," a move of pure genius on somebody's part. The contestants sported black shorts, button-down white shirts and ties-a comical combination of apparel that was both classy and sexy. The laughter, cheering and general noise from the onlookers was able to compete with the music, quite an impressive feat.

After the opening number, the judges were introduced. The panel consisted of two Brandeis students, Clayton Campbell '13 and Mohamed Sidique '14; Brandeis alumna Amanda Kelly '08, named Miss Massachusetts in 2009; and the infamous Stephanie Grimes, director of Student Activities. The judges awarded each contestant a certain number of the 25 points for each event. Students could also participate in the decision by donating money to their favorite contestants. Each dollar donated to a contestant awarded him one point.

The swimwear contest, probably the most anticipated event, came next. Each contestant walked out to the song of his choice while the two hosts read the contestant's statement about why he is involved with Relay for Life. However, the music and cheering were so loud that hosts were barely audible. Contestants accessorized with shower caps, boogie boards, turtle floatees and one contestant even came out playing a guitar.

The formal wear came next, which gave the contestants an opportunity to strut their stuff in classy outfits. Some contestants got very creative with their suits and ties. David Alpert '16 walked out shirtless in a blazer and a bowtie and dropped his pants in the middle of the runway to revel, in a strictly PG-13 manner, his shorts underneath. While the contestants walked, the hosts announced the on-campus clubs in which they were involved, as well as some of their hobbies.

After the two catwalk contests, it was time for the audience to vote. The event took a quick intermission so that the audience could donate to their favorite contestants. After the intermission, the final 10 contestants were announced. Only the final 10 could go on to perform their talents.

Next came the talent portion. Some of the more memorable talents were Fred Berger '15 making a sandwich with his feet; Dillon Morris '14 playing the "Four Chords Song" on his guitar; and Yoni Sebag '13 making a chocolate cake while wearing a frilly pink apron.

After the talent portion, there was another short intermission during which members of the audience could again vote for their favorite contestants by donating to their Relay fund. The contestants were narrowed down to five: Berger, Gustavo Lopes '15, Makalani Mack '16, Pat Seaward '13 and Sebag.

These last five contestants then competed in possibly the most difficult challenge of all-answering on-the-spot questions. Some of the questions were about Relay for Life, such as: "How would you convince someone to join your Relay for Life team?" And, "If you could start a Relay for Life initiative, what would it be?" Other questions were comical such as: "Which

Disney princess would you date?" Or, "If you could be any building on campus, what would it be?" At a particularly touching moment, Mack answered the question: "Define endless love" by pointing to his girlfriend in the audience.

After another break to donate money to contestants, the winners were announced. Sebag won Mr. Congeniality and Seward was crowned pageant king. After the pageant, there was a live date auction in which all the contestants were raffled off. There were some interesting back-and-forth fights for contestants. Two female members of the audience engaged in a fight over Mack that was so intense it must have been planned and culminated only when the two bidders started counting up pennies.

A coordinator of the event who would like to remain unnamed told me that they hope this will be an annual event to fund cancer prevention but with a couple changes, such as having the event in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater and planning performances during the small intermissions. The event was hilarious and extremely entertaining. The contestants were really good sports about all of the events, however embarrassing, and even seemed to be having a great time. I personally hope it will become a lasting Brandeis tradition.