On April 22^nd, Delta Sigma Phi and Alpha Chi Omega teamed up to host a joined event combining two of their annual events with Delta Sigma Phi hosting Miss Millikin and Alpha Chi Omega hosting Barefoot and Blue Jeans. Combining the two events not only had the Miss Millikin pageant, but also had games and live music from bands including Scooby and the Shaggers, the Millikin Bluegrass Band, and Trouveur as well as a performance from the Physical Graffiti dance group. While the individual events belonged to the different organizations and have been going on for years, this year the two organizations teamed up and combined the two events in the first time on campus that a fraternity and a sorority have co ran an event, to raise money for the American Red Cross as well as the Dove Shelter.

According to Alpha Chi Omega member Meghan Bryan “We have done barefoot band blue jeans for a few years with games on the quad and I also enjoy live music and I thought it would be a good idea to work with another group and so we teamed up with Delta Sig and decided to combine with their Miss Millikin event in order to host this event which is the first sorority and fraternity joined event on campus.”

The Miss Millikin pageant this year had six contestants participating and representing each a different organization on campus. The contestants that were nominated for Miss Millikin were Jackie Boaden representing Sigma Lambda Gamma, Kat Scarim representing Pi Beta Phi, Paige Dorsel representing Millikin’s Student Senate, Mary McCormack representing Alpha Psi Omega, Sattin Schreiner representing Pipe Dreams Studios, and Sarah Rapp representing the Millikin cheerleading squad.

During the contest, it was divided up into 3 categories: the first being a questions category in which the MC asked each contestant two questions and each contestant was given a chance to give their answer with the questions varying from “Who do you consider to be your biggest inspiration” to “how have the ideals of your organization affected your life” to “why is feminism important”. When asked how the ideals of her organization affects her life, Jackie Boaden said “As SLG’s mission statement says, we are committed to create strong independent women and we strive to empower women in their own lives and this is a practice that I feel is important to practice in my own life.” When asked who her biggest influence was, Mary McCormack stated that “I would say my dad is my biggest influence because he supported me going into the arts and he is a musician himself so growing up he would help me to find the right vocal teachers because he wishes he would’ve had someone supporting him when he was going into the arts.” And when asked why she thought feminism was important, Sarah Rapp said “It is important to have men and woman represented equally and it is important for women to be allowed to speak their mind and put their names out there the same way men do.”

During the outfit portion, the contestants each picked out an outfit that was supposed to represent their personality. Each of the contestants had a different outfit and a different explanation of why they chose it. According to Paige Dorsel who wore a yellow dress “I chose this outfit because I feel that the color yellow is a bright color that fits my bright personality as I try and bring brightness to people’s days.” Another contestant Sattin Schreiner who wore a more laid back outfit “I chose to wear a sweatshirt and jeans because it fits my personality which is more laid back and I usually am not over the top in how I dress.” According to Kat Scarim who wore a paint covered shirt as well as a t-shirt and yoga beads said “Each part of my outfit contributes to either my creativity with the paint shirt as I paint a lot and consider myself creative. The T-Shirt was the shirts we made when my mom was battling breast cancer and it shows that I have a strong bond with my family. And the yoga beads are because I passed my yoga class and so I got them to showcase that fact.”

During the talent portion, each contestant showcased a different talent they have including singing, science experiments and creating an art piece with each contestant showcasing a different talent. After the talent portion the judges gathered to crown Miss Millikin 2016 and the winner was Kat Scarim of Pi Beta Phi.