At the end of the Mr. Green and Gold Pageant put on by Alpha Sigma Tau, the new Mr. Green and Gold Hayden Porter posed with Zackery Norton, left, and Christian Rabalais, right, along with 13 other contestants for a group picture. Annie Goodman/The Lion’s Roar

Freshman communication major Hayden Porter was crowned at the Mr. Green and Gold Pageant hosted by Alpha Sigma Tau.

“It feels great,” said Porter. “I was really glad that all of my friends were out here supporting me with it. It feels like it wasn’t just me up there. It feels like it was everybody that helped me get here.”

The pageant took place Tuesday, Oct. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the Student Union Theatre.

Sophomore nursing major Samantha Messina, who organized the event, had been preparing for the event since July 2016.

“The purpose of the pageant was to raise money for our sisterhood and to allow other fraternities and other male students at Southeastern to participate in an event for us and for us to branch out and reach other organizations on campus,” said Messina.

Porter sang in the talent portion of the pageant.

“I’ve been singing since I was in fourth grade,” said Porter. “I did talented music from the time I was in fourth grade all through high school. I’ve always loved to sing. I’ve always thought I had a decent voice. So, it just seemed the most natural thing to do.”

Freshman history and political science major Marris Hoffee attended the event to support her roommate’s boyfriend.

“I think it was really well thought out,” said Hoffee. “I really like the questions and the competitions. It’s really funny, and it’s really fun to cheer and get involved in stuff like this.”

Sophomore history major Christian Rabalais enjoyed competing in the pageant.

“It was honestly amazing,” said Rabalais. “I had a lot of fun doing it. This was my first time. I pulled out all the stops so that I could try to win. Unfortunately, it didn’t come through, but I loved having fun and embarrassing myself in front of the lovely ladies of Alpha Sigma Tau. It was really something I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Senior kinesiology and health sciences major Bryce Cothern competed in the pageant and received first runner up.

“I did it last year, and it goes to a good cause,” said Cothern. “It’s a fun time. I’m on AST’s Anchor Court, which is like their Beaucourt, and I’m just trying to support the girls who put me on their court.”

Messina explained that watching the event, which has been around for three years, last year inspired her to take on the task of organizing it this year.

“Last year it was kind of small, and I was also a new member,” said Messina. “So, I saw it and thought, ‘This could be really cool. I really want to do it.’ That gave me a little inspiration so I led to make it a little bit bigger this year, and I think that went pretty well.”

Hoffee enjoyed John Sartori’s and Zackery Norton’s talent of impressions and accents.

“I like the guys that did the voice manipulation because I think that is the coolest talent that there is,” said Hoffee. 

Rabalais wore a Starbuck’s uniform for swimwear because he said he is always swimming in coffee.

“I think my greatest personal advantage was the drum solo that I did for my talent,” said Rabalais. “I used to play high school band for four years, so I still have a few of the charts that I had from then. I think my worst would have been the swimsuit because I honestly did not put a lot of effort in that. I mean, I tried, but it’s all in good fun.”

This was Cothern’s second time competing, but he felt his talent was lacking presentation.

“I think my greatest advantage would be that I did it last year,” said Cothern. “I think my disadvantage was in my talent. Although I did do something that I can give it to them, I didn’t have much pizzazz with it.”

However, Messina favored Cothern in the competition because of his talent.

“My personal favorite was Bryce Cothern,” said Messina. “For his talent, he made us something for our sorority. He made this beautiful mosaic out of plaster and glass. To me, it was beautiful. It was so sensitive and sweet. I know him personally. So, I know he’s awesome anyway, and then that was just like, ‘Wow you did great.’”

Overall, Messina believes the pageant was a success.

“I think it went really well, actually,” said Messina. “We had 17 guys show up. Only 14 were in the pageant tonight. Two of them were sick and one just didn’t show up, but our crowd was awesome. We ended up having over 100 people who weren’t in our sisterhood show up and people I’ve never met before just come and watch and have a good time. So, I think it went really, really well, better than I expected.”