Jamila Young – Arts & Entertainment Editor
Delta Phi Epsilon held their sixth annual Deepher Dude in Engleman C112. “Each year it gets better and better,” said DPhiE sister Ashley Grippo. Deepher Dude is the sorority’s mock male pageant fundraising event, where male Southern students volunteer to compete against each other for the sorority’s philanthropy, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. CF is an inherited disease that affects the lungs and digestive system, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation website. The body produces an unusually thick, sticky mucus that clogs the lungs, obstructs the pancreas and stops natural enzymes from helping the body break down and absorb food, due to a defective gene and its protein. Cystic fibrosis is just one of the three philanthropies that the sorority is a part of, said Grippo, “Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Delta Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation, and the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders.” This year’s contestants were: Brett O’Connell, Marc Conte Jr., Alex Audet, Glen Espin, Sammy Maximin, Donny Palumbo, Jim ‘Jimbo’ Zarifis, and Kyle Pasquarella.
At the entrance of the event, Delta Phi Epsilon sisters were seen standing at different tables. One was for people to donate money that would go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and in return donors would get a raffle ticket (or tickets depending on the donation amount) as an incentive. Buckets were set up to represent each raffle prize that was available so donors could put their ticket in the bucket of the prize that they wanted to win. On another table, sisters were selling snacks. The room was decorated in a red, white, and blue theme. The audience included families of the contestants, Greek Life members–both current and alumni–as well as non-Greek Life Southern students.
The show was hosted by Delta Phi Epsilon sisters Nicole Velazquez and Melissa Russo. It began with the eight contestants doing a dance performance together to a compilation of songs. After that the competition began. The contestants performed in different categories that they were judged in, such as talent, spirit wear, formal wear, sports wear, and a Q&A session. There were three judges, the Delta Phi Epsilon’s chapter advisor Stephanie Guerrera, their faculty advisor Jordan Jones, and last year’s Deepher Dude Jaamal Sancho.
The talents ranged from motivational speaking, playing guitar, singing, rapping, dancing, and more. Throughout the event sisters of Delta Phi Epsilon read information about cystic fibrosis, and Sancho read a poem called ‘65 Roses,’ about a woman who had three boys with the disease. As he read, sisters handed out roses to the audience. During the formal wear competition, the contestants showed off their attire while being escorted by DPhiE sisters.
In the end, the 2014 Deepher Dude title went to Brett O’Connell, but two people went home winners that night, because Marc Conte Jr. won the People’s Choice and Fundraising Award. O’Connell tried out for Deepher Dude last year and represented Alpha Phi Delta fraternity. Last year’s winner, Sancho, is his fraternity brother. “I enjoy doing it,” said O’Connell. “I wanted to keep the title in the fraternity.” O’Connell said he’d been planning for the event for a while to make his comeback. “I’ve been planning since last year, and on a way to improve. My coach helped me; she even picked my dance.” He said he had to audition again, and would’ve tried out again if he hadn’t won. “It’s all about having fun,” said O’Connell. “Friendly competition.”
Grippo said that there’s no limit to how many contestants there can be, and you don’t have to be part of Greek Life or a club or organization. “You can represent the student body,” said Grippo. You do have to meet a gpa requirement, and be someone that would represent the sorority in a positive way, because people have been turned down for not meeting those requirements, Grippo said.
