The Mister and Miss UB pageant was a huge success for the African Club. Through teamwork, organization, school spirit, and of course for lack of a better word, the “guts” of some participants, the Mertens Theater of the Arnold Bernard Center, commonly known as the ABC building, was packed to capacity. The crowning of Rafelina Duran as Miss UB and Kimikami Miyake as Mr. UB on December 3, 2005 marked the beginning of what many hope to see continued as an annual event.Hosts DeeDee and Jemimah opened the event by announcing that all proceeds would go to benefit the Zambia Water for Life Project. Performances throughout the pageant included dances from both a male and female group from the African Club, the Japanese rock band “Imput,” a song by Farida, and a dance by “Tempted 2 Dance.” The contestants for the pageant were judged on their talent, freestyle, evening wear, casual wear, and of course the dreaded (at least for one contestant) interview questions. One female contestant was asked about her plans for the next decade. Many in the audience were stunned to hear her reply that in a decade she would be 24 years old. Unless she is a genius (which has not been confirmed, nor denied), it is quite certain that she is not a fourteen year old college student. Understandably, this contestant was probably under a lot of pressure and also 2005very nervous. However, if she honestly did not know that a decade is a period of ten years, perhaps a visit back to high school would be helpful.
As with many events, when it is the first time, problems are likely to occur. This event was no exception. The organization of the event definitely could have been better. Problems were mostly associated with timing. The event was scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm. However, it was almost 8:00 pm before it started. Also it would have been helpful if performers were ready to perform when they were called. There was an instance when the male group of the African Club was called to perform, and one of the performers was sitting in the audience; not in costume. Music played as viewers waited, and waited, and waited. These lapses (and there were many) in planning caused many audience members to leave and made the program last longer than it should have.
If this event should become an annual event, no matter what club it is sponsored by, it should be planned accordingly. Congratulations to winners Rafelina Duran and Kimikami Miyake and good luck in the year ahead.