Zeta Tau Alpha hosted their annual Big Man on Campus event on Wednesday, February 27 at 10:00 pm in Pollak Theater. The event’s main goal was to raise awareness and money for breast cancer. All proceeds were donated to the Susan G. Koman Foundation.
Big Man on Campus is a male pageant in which guys from various organizations on campus showcase different attire and talents competing for first through third place.
There were four categories of clothing styles including casual, swimsuit, talent and formal wear. The music for the night was provided by Tau Kappa Epsilon’s Phil Nappen.
Running for the title of Big Man on Campus was Bryan Duarte of Sigma Pi, Mike Migliaro of Phi Kappa Psi, Ron Serman of Tau Kappa Epsilon, Mike Tilton of Sigma Tau Gamma, Zach Martin of Tau Kappa Epsilon, Bernie Ianucci of Phi Kappa Psi, Kevin Davis of the soccer team, Ryan Dubelbeiss of Theta Xi, Kyle Hasslinger of the ice hockey team, and Michael Qualiano of Alpha Kappa Psi.
The 10 contestants came out on stage in their different attire for each round. They were given questions and were asked to also provide a talent for the audience.
Participants were competing to win over the four judges. The judges included Casey McCabe of Delta Phi Epsilon, Jess Bragen of Phi Sigma Sigma, Kristi Hunt of Alpha Xi Delta and reigning Big Man on Campus from 2011 Andy Stern. The judges were asked to give insight throughout the event and to score to each contestant, which ultimately decided the winner.
This year’s talent portion provided a variety of acts. The contestants performed a number of talents including a live Harlem shake, a violin performance, a monologue from “Romeo and Juliet,” stand up comedy, and various dance and song numbers.
Tau Kappa Epsilon’s Matt Avellino and Zeta Tau Alpha’s Megan Van Tine hosted the event. Avellino said, “I loved the experience. It was nice to not be the center of attention and just comment on other people’s performance. I tried my best to hype everyone up, both the crowd and contestants. I think one of the most important things is just kind of facilitating the actions of the guys on stage.”
Sister of Zeta Tau Alpha, Carly Swanson was responsible for putting the whole event together. Swanson said, “I though this year’s Big Man was incredibly successful! The theatre was completely packed. I couldn’t be happier with the turnout. We all had a great time, as well as the guys, and it seemed like the audience did too.”
There was a short intermission between the talent and formal sections of the event. Audience members were given a chance to take home prizes with a door raffle. The three prizes included gift cards to Giuseppe’s, Jersey Mike’s and Carvel Cake.
At this point, Avellino and fellow brother of Tau Kappa Epsilon, Christian Anderson, joined together on stage to perform an acoustic rendition of Frank Ocean’s “Thinkin’ About You”.
By the end of the event the judges had to pick a winner. Mike Migliaro from Tau Kappa Epsilon took third place and Bryan Duarte from Sigma Pi took second place. Kevin Davis from the soccer team was named this year’s Big Man on Campus. All three winners walked away with a combination of prizes including gift cards to Scalas, Surf Taco, Bagel Guys Deli, JR’s, Jersey Mike’s, Windmill, Draft House, and Jack’s.
Davis said, “The event thrown by ZTA was a lot of fun. I’m glad that I was a part of it. I just wanted to go out and make people laugh, but winning was a nice touch.”
Zeta Tau Alpha hosts multiple events throughout the year to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. Swanson said, “Other events we do in support of breast cancer are Think Pink Week in October and our annual Think Pink Volleyball Game in the fall semester.”
PHOTO TAKEN by Kaitlyn Mastrofilippo
