Photo by Giselle Cancio/FIUSM
Giselle Cancio/Staff Writer
DestiNATION Campus Man was more than just a pageant; it was a week full of events centered on an “around the world” theme that led to a $9,000 donation to Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
“We had four pre-planned events that we called our “Campus Man Week,” said Angie Pardo, Vice President of Programming for DphiE, junior majoring in public relations. “We created the pun on words: DestiNATION Campus Man in order to have a fun twist to our events.”
The pre-events were held from Jan. 29 through Feb. 2, with the pageant being on Feb. 3.
“Fundraise Away” gave all nine contestants the opportunity to raise funds for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and this became a part of their talent the day of the pageant.
“Relay around the world” took place at the intramural fields and each participant donated money in order to talk around the field. This was in honor of those who have passed from Cystic Fibrosis.
“Pin your place” was an event done at the GC tables, where students were able to donate $1 in order to pin their favorite place on the globe.
“Spin Zone” was also located at the GC Tables, and here students had the chance to spin a wheel and answer a question about a country for $1 and if they answered correctly, they received a baked good.
“The pre-events were very successful, we were able to raise $3,000 alone just between those four events,” Pardo said.
Any gentleman at FIU had the opportunity to run for Campus Man, as long as they were an FIU student and they were available to attend the pre-events.
This year there were nine gentlemen competing for the title: Alex Litten (Beta Theta Pi), Austin Kelley (Phi Gamma Delta), Ian Llanes (Pi Kappa Phi), Ariel Cosio (Sigma Alpha Mu), Diego Martinho (Sigma Chi), Richard Garcia (Sigma Phi Epsilon), Nelson Sanchez (Tau Kappa Epsilon), Jeancarlo Casasola (Tau Kappa Epsilon) and Kyle Pla (Theta Chi).
The pageant consists of four rounds. The first round asked contestants facts about DPhiE. During the second round, each contestant explained how much money they had raised throughout the week and how they accomplished those totals. It ranged from tabling at the pre-events to hosting events on their own. For the third round, each contestant was given a scenario and they had to react with “what campus man would do.” The last round was a final question/costume round which had them explain their “around the world” costume alongside why they felt they were the best candidate for Campus Man.
Viewers choice was awarded to Kyle Pla and Campus Man 2014 is Diego Martinho.
“The planning was rough and extremely stressful but well worth all of it,” Pardo said. “It felt amazing to finally have a Campus Man, and to be awarded with Diego was a blessing. I was anxious the entire night because I knew all nine contestants had a big chance of taking the title due to their hard work and dedication the past week, I would have been elated with any one of them winning.”
Other ways funds were raised throughout the night were ticket sales, food, and raffle items such as signed bats, vixen workout goodies and an iPad Air.
All proceeds of DestiNATION Campus Man are donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, which is Delta Phi Epsilon’s national philanthropy.
Cystic Fibrosis is a lung disease that individuals are born with and it affects their entire lung system and digestive system. Those diagnosed are usually given little time to live, but as of late, patients have made it to up to 50 years old.
There is no cure as of now, but DPhiE’s across the nation are raising funds for research day in and day out.
“One day, we want CF to stand for Cure Found” said Maria Britos, senior majoring broadcast journalism.
giselle.cancio@fiusm.com
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