Delta Zeta sophomore Jackie Dye lined up outside the IU auditorium with 17 other contestants and waited for the event to start. She wanted to be the lucky contestant in the pageant to be crowned Miss Greek IU.
She raised more than $3,000, been interviewed and had special outfits prepared for the night, and now it was time for her to compete. She came to raise money not only for her sorority but also for cancer research.
Each sorority representative raises money for their individual charity but the majority of all the funds go to the V Foundation for developing cancer research. The event began with a video honoring the man the foundation is named after.
“You should laugh every day,” Jimmy Valvano, a cancer victim and founder of the V Foundation for cancer research, said. “No. 2 is think. You should spend some time in thought. No. 3 is you should have your emotions moved to tears. Could be happiness or joy.”
These words left a somber feeling in the air as people reflected on Valvano’s message. The event soon continued on to the sound of laughter and cheers from the crowd.
Dye came into the auditorium with her hands in the air and clapped in unison with 17 other contestants. Beyonce’s “Run the World (Girls)” played as the crowd cheered the contestants on to the stage. One by one the contestants stepped forward on stage and made their sorority’s hand sign before exiting the stage.
Dye was the ninth contestant on the list. She came on stage wearing a black dress and accompanied by a brother from Beta Theta Pi. This was her first opportunity to introduce herself to the audience and judges.
She said her sorority’s charity was the Starkey Hearing Foundation which endeavors to help those with speech and hearing impediments.
A big portion of her evening had already been determined before she even stepped into the auditorium. The pre-event interviews made up for 45 points of the total 100 points. In Dye’s interview, she talked about her favorite 1990’s artist, Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, before speaking on some of the most interesting things that she had done.
“My first certified scuba dive was with sharks,” Dye said. “That was pretty cool.”
The outfit section of the event started with Alpha Gamma Delta’s contestant, who held a white flag which read “Hunger has no boundaries” in red paint. The contestant from Alpha Delta Pi even brought out a child in a Riley wagon who eventually got out to throw a pie in a man’s face.
Dye dressed like a taco. She danced around the stage with maracas and wore a sombrero as the emcees, Morgan Able and Sean Brown according to the Miss Greek IU website, spoke about her philanthropy.
Next the evening gown portion of the competition saw the contestants in formal dresses. Dye wore a long black black dress as she modeled on stage and the emcees read her biography. Her biography mentioned her involvement with her father’s nonprofit, which works with children.
Cheers answered when the pageant winner was announced to be Olivia Wagner from Gamma Phi Beta. The other four top contestants were from Alpha Omicron Pi, Zeta Tau Alpha, Alpha Delta Pi and Theta Phi Alpha.
While only the top five are ranked, and Dye did not make the cut, she said she was happy to raise money for those in need, especially children.
“Nothing compares to seeing the smiles on these kids faces,” Dye said.
