George Herbert doesn't normally spend his Wednesday evenings playing the guitar and singing along in beach clothes for about 200 people.
But he did last Wednesday in the Packer Hall gymnasium for a good cause - raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF).
In the process, Herbert, sophomore history education major, captured the title of The Lion King, as he was competing with five other fraternity members in Delta Phi Epsilon's annual male pageant.
"I'm really excited to win," Herbert, a Phi Kappa Tau brother, said. "Everyone was awesome. It's a real honor."
Campus sororities paid a $25 fee to sponsor a fraternity member. Kappa Delta sponsored Herbert.
This money, along with donations put in buckets as a voting measure for the People's Choice Winner, went to CFF.
Ed Walaski, sophomore business administration major and member of Alpha Chi Rho, who won second place, was voted People's Choice.
Walaski rapped a lighthearted song and amazed the hosts by using words like "philanthropy" and still making it rhyme. The audience clapped to the beat.
Mike Rabasca, senior business administration major and member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, came in third place. Sigma Sigma Sigma sponsored Walaski and Phi Sigma Sigma sponsored Rabasca.
Rabasca was named Delta Phi Epsilon's personal choice of the pageant. He played the piano and sang a crowd favorite song.
"It's fun," Jim Nasto, sophomore computer engineering and chemistry major, who represented Sigma Pi, said. "I'm having a great time. It's a blast." Zeta Tau Alpha sponsored Nasto.
Nasto surprised the crowd in the talent showcase by bringing volunteer Jay Shilling, freshman mechanical engineering major, to the stage and giving him a haircut in the time length of a song.
Ann Marie Brooks, Delta Phi Epsilon member and freshman English/secondary education major, was proud of the pageant's success.
"It went very well," Brooks said. "People were very generous, and it all helps the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation."
PJ Spigner, junior criminology and justice studies and sociology major and member of Sigma Pi, also participated. "I love it," Spigner said. Theta Phi Alpha sponsored him.
All winners received gift baskets, which were filled with donations from local businesses, including TGIFriday's, Applebee's, The Stress Factory, Panera Bread, 7-11 and more. Similar prizes were raffled off to audience members that purchased tickets.
