O'Phelan crowned Mr. BC

Beauty pageants are not just for women anymore. On Thursday, the Residence Hall Association sponsored Mr. BC, an annual event in which BC men wore beach and formalwear, answered questions, and showed their talents in a fight for the title. Conor O'Phelan, A&S '08, said winning the competition was, "the best moment of [his] life."

The contestants were Andrew LaVenia, A&S '10; Chester Li, A&S '08; Peter Smith, A&S '08; Anthony Luppino, CSOM '10; O'Phelan, and Dug Yun, A&S '11.

The pageant started off with beachwear. LaVenia appeared first, sporting a bright green suit, which went over his shoulders, cut low to expose his chest and stomach. The following suits varied: Li's trunks, cape, and goggles; Smith's Hawaiian shirt and straw hat; Luppino ripped his shirt and pants off to reveal a maroon Speedo and the letters BC shaved into his chest; O'Phelan's BC track uniform, and Yun's sailor get-up.

Next, the contestants modeled their formalwear. LaVenia started off in style, with a fur coat, cheetah-print hat, grillz, and a girl on each arm. Li appeared decked out prom style, and dipped his date for flair. Smith then emerged as a Greek god, including a laurel wreath. Luppino apparently has a thing for Speedos, as his formal outfit featured a black one with a bow-tie. O'Phelan entered in a tux and shades with a girl on one arm and a guy on the other, whom he grinded with. Yun and his date matched in their patchwork shorts and jackets, each wearing one of the other's socks.

The talent portion of the show far outshined the rest. LaVenia began the show performing "the evolution of dance" in silver reflective pants. He danced to a medley featuring 16 songs, which included "Hound Dog," "Dancing Queen," "Thriller," "Cotton-Eyed Joe," and "The Chicken Dance." Li's performance started off with a partner whom he twirled, dipped, and flipped to "La Vida Loca," then progressed on his own dancing to "Everybody Dance Now," "I'm Too Sexy," and "Mr. Roboto." Smith needed a microphone as he danced and sang along to Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You." Luppino then mimed a song, with motions such as pointing to his eye ("I"), drawing a house complete with smoke from the chimney ("home"), and a hip thrust ("lay"). O'Phelan, dressed in a pink leotard over black tights, performed a ribbon dance to "My Heart Will Go On," with other songs such as "Macarena" and "Soulja Boy" intermittently added. Yun wrapped up the show with what he called "the original performance of a song stolen by [his] band mate in high school: 'Soulja Boy.'" He sang the rap while playing it on an acoustic guitar.

LaVenia credited his performance to the "Evolution of Dance" video on YouTube. "The Old School Will Ferrell performance had some influence, but I wanted to mix it up a bit," O'Phelan said about the inspiration for his talent performance.

After the talent, only three remained: O'Phelan, LaVenia, and Li, who then answered two questions each in the lightning round. O'Phelan's perfect date would entail: "a long walk down the Dustbowl, holding hands with some guy following playing a violin. Then, at that perfect moment, the perfect kiss. That's all I need: 10 seconds for the perfect kiss." Li's best excuse to take BC escort is if one should fall off a balcony while dancing at a party. LaVenia's best pick-up line is "Is your daddy a thief? Because he must have stolen the stars to make your eyes shimmer." Li and LaVenia's answers just did not hold up, as O'Phelan was pronounced the winner.

"I feel like Mr. BC is the sort of competition that epitomizes BC. Just put yourself out there and embarrass yourself. It's good fun," O'Phelan said. "I just hope to live up to what this award means to this campus."