By Laura Shrake | Assistant News Editor

lshrake@kykernel.com

The Mr. and Miss Black UK and Mr. UK pageants have coexisted on campus for 14 years.  Although similar in name and atmosphere, the two serve inherently different purposes.

Mr. and Miss Black UK is a homecoming pageant that began in the mid-1980s or early 1990s, and is organized by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and the Black Student Union, said Ambra Noble, the sorority’s president.

“It’s an event where minorities are able to display their talent on campus and represent the minority in a positive light and atmosphere,” Noble said.

First implemented solely by Delta Sigma Theta’s Mu Epsilon chapter, the pageant awards a scholarship to the male and female winner to help pay for their textbooks, Noble said.

The event is also for charity. Spectators have the option to pay $3 with the donation of a canned good for God’s Pantry Food Bank, or $5 without.

“We just like to encourage academic success and help students in their college careers,” Noble said.

If crowned as Mr. or Miss Black UK, one should fulfill certain expectations.

“You are essentially the face of the black community at UK,” said Jayla Beeler, psychology senior and co-chair of the event. “If you win, you have to hold yourself to a higher standard.”

Noble said involving minorities in campus homecoming events may have been the reason for implementation of the pageant.

“Just looking at the time frame of late ’80s and early ’90s, there probably wasn’t a great representation of minorities on UK’s campus,” Noble said.

The pageant is unlike others because to be a contestant, the applicant must apply and interview, said Unique Young, the Black Student Union’s co-chair of the event.

Beeler said the black community is in need of a role model because the community is so small in relation to the entire university.

“(The spectators) get to see what each contestant is like on campus and get a sense of how they are personally, so when they see (the contestants) on campus, they are more approachable,” Beeler said.

Mr. UK is another pageant sponsored by a UK sorority.

This event, hosted by Delta Zeta, although similar to Mr. and Miss Black UK in its philanthropic nature, is not a homecoming event, nor a scholarship program.

“It’s a male beauty pageant,” said Kristina Alexander, corporate communications junior and Delta Zeta’s vice president of programs. “Contestants sign up through fraternities and other organizations.”

The event is open to men from any organization, but Alexander said typically fraternities are the participants because many who receive the application, like student organizations and athletic teams, do not return it.

Alexander said this year’s 25 contestants are participating in an American-themed pageant, which includes dance, swimwear and formal wear events, as well as an interview and talent portion.

This year marks the 14th year for the philanthropic event.

Delta Zeta raised about $25,000 last year with their pageant and this year is hoping to raise close to $30,000, Alexander said.

The money raised will be split between the sorority’s five philanthropies, which includes the Lexington Hearing & Speech Center.

“It’s just a fun way to make money,” Alexander said.