Pageant won by unicorn on brass

Nine men competed in Delta Phi Epsilon’s fourth annual “Deepher Dude” contest Thursday,… Nine men competed in Delta Phi Epsilon’s fourth annual “Deepher Dude” contest Thursday, entertaining the audience with a variety of rehearsed talents from the usual, singing and playing instruments, to the eccentric, performing the Moonwalk.

But it was an unrehearsed trombone version of a “fan favorite,” played in a unicorn costume that won the Pitt Band’s Jason Pippi the crown. He encouraged the audience to sing along to “A Whole New World” from Aladdin, all the while dressed as the Delta Phi Epsilon mascot animal.

Pippi said he was genuinely surprised with his victory.

“That was the first time I played that song in seven years,” he said.

By the end of the night, the male beauty pageant raised more than $1,000 for the sorority’s charity, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, marking the first year the event collected more than $400. Ninety cents of every dollar made at the event went to research for the foundation.

Pippi’s unicorn costume wasn’t the only one that surprised the audience. Contestant John Altland, from Sigma Phi Epsilon, performed his talent wearing a blond wig, and Tom Swogger of Phi Delta Chi ran on stage dressed in a long trench coat.

“You are probably wondering why I am wearing this long trench coat,” he announced.

“I want to surprise the ladies,” he said, before revealing his outfit: extremely short shorts, green leg warmers and a homemade white tank top that said “I love D-Phi-E.”

The audience laughed as Swogger performed a unique dance that looked like an exercise routine. As the last contestant in the talent section, Swogger blew a kiss to the judges.

After his victory, Pippi revealed that he thought Swogger was going to win.

“He was definitely a crowd pleaser with his talent,” Pippi said.

Other highlights of the talent section included: Matt Barron from Delta Chi, who performed “I Believe in a Thing Called Love” by The Darkness with a full band; and Ryan Masolotte of Lambda Chi Alpha who rapped “No Diggity” by Blackstreet.

Matt Felbinger, who represented Phi Sigma Pi, did an imitation of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dance while wearing all black. Mike Pettiford from the men’s volleyball club played his saxophone.

The second part of the contest required contestants to model formal wear and participate in a question-and-answer session.

In response to a question that asked him to name the dumbest purchase he ever made, Felbinger responded by naming his Chumbawumba CD, Tubthumping.

After his victory, Pippi was asked what he thought was the secret to becoming Deepher Dude 2006.

“I would say a good Disney song, a great smile and great friends,” he said. “There’s power in Disney music.”

Christina Mazur, Delta Phi Epsilon’s philanthropy chair, and Loreleigh Lewis, the vice president of programming, said that the sorority is trying to make the Deepher Dude fundraiser more widely known on Pitt’s campus.

This year, members of the sorority spoke with organizations on campus and encouraged them to participate in the event.

“We decided we needed to do something to get organizations here,” she said.

To help achieve this goal, Delta Phi Epsilon awarded $100 to the philanthropy of the organization of the contestant who brought the most supporters in the audience. They kept track of supporters by including a sign-in section on the pre-sold tickets.

“It’s all about publicity and using all tactics,” Lewis said.

Mazur said that they have taken the fundraiser more seriously than in the past. She said that the event is a lot more known throughout campus.

“This is a step in the right direction,” she said. “A lot more work had to go into it, but that had to be done.”