As the Unity Pageant ended Saturday afternoon, Ball State University alumnus Ivy McConnell looked at the 10 contestants and noticed something was missing from the event.
Each of the contestants who stood in line on stage were black. McConnell said she realized the pageant itself could be truer to its title of "Unity".
"The pageant is meant to represent diversity on campus," McConnell said. "I wish that [those of other races] have the opportunity to come to the pageant because it is a predominantly African-American. We've had a student of Asian descent be crowned Ms. Unity as well as a Caucasian one. I think as years go on, more people [of other races] will be more comfortable to be in the pageant."
The event was titled the Miss Black Ball State Pageant before 1978, an event organized by the Black Student Association. It was changed that year by the BSA to accommodate anyone who wanted to participate, Tiffany Washington, assistant director of Student Life, said.
"The pageant was renamed The Unity Pageant so that it would be inclusive of all races and cultures," Washington said. "The Unity Week started off as Unity Day then became a week of events."
The week of events this year consisted of a "Day of Service" in honor of Martin Luther King Jr., a presidential inauguration watch celebration along with an inauguration panel discussion, all-day events in the Atrium, the Diversity Dance Revolution in Irving Gymnasium and then the pageant to end the week.
"Heaven on Earth" was the title for this year's pageant, a showcase of various students' talents, style and character. The 10 contestants in the pageant, five women and five men, all competed for the title of Ms. or Mr. Unity on Saturday. More than 300 people showed up to cheer for and support the contestants.
Sophomore Alexandria Pernell was crowned Ms. Unity and Freshman Terrance Veals was named Mr. Unity. The runner-ups for Mr. and Ms. Unity were Unity Prince, Daniel Packard, and Princess, Randal Johnson, respectively.
Finding those who were willing to put in the necessary work to be in the pageant was a key issue this year, Unity Week Co-Chair Samuel Osborne said.
"The biggest difficulty for us was getting people to participate, especially the gentlemen," Osborne said. "There aren't a lot of pageants out there for males in general, so it was hard to get the guys out there. We still had a tremendous group of gentlemen who escorted tonight."
LaTessa Black, the 2008-2009 president of the Black Student Association, said that the liaisons had been working with the contestants to help them learn their dance steps or their spoken lines since September. She said that this pageant was different from previous ones, not necessarily better or worse.
"Seeing all of the hard work that the contestants have put in is great," Black said. "Each pageant has been different in its own way."
Amber Yvette Williams, co-chair of Unity Week, said that making the pageant racially and culturally diverse is a principle goal for those involved in Unity Week. Yet another way to achieve unity is through interaction across age groups, she said.
"Since I'm an upperclassmen, sometimes it's difficult for me to get to meet incoming freshmen and sophomores," Williams said. "By participating in the pageant, the most rewarding thing is getting to know students and helping them to adjust to their new life on campus. The Unity Pageant is a good way for underclassmen to get to know each other and potential mentors."
Pernell said that a different style of promotion for the event could garner a more diverse turnout and not alienate some students.
"I feel like everybody worked really hard and that our liaisons and our presidents took care of everything," Pernell said. "[However, the pageant] should be promoted campus-wide instead of just through the Multicultural Center."
Ms. and Mr. Unity will go on to walk in the Muncie Annual Parade or during Homecoming and complete a set amount of community service hours. The winners will also create at least two cultural programs for the year that promote unity on campus and become a part of the Unity Week committee, Washington said.
Contestants and their talents
- Elexis Ackerson - Performed martial arts display armed with dual sai (daggers used by Raphael from TMNT)
- Ramaro Barnes - Read poem, awarded title of Mr. Congeniality
- Janese Whitfield - Sang a song
- Daniel Packard - Unity Prince, read poem
- Terrance Veals - Unity King, performed small play about a conversation with his conscience
- Rachel Hoke - Read poetry
- Randal Johnson - Unity Princess, drew a portrait
- Alexandria West - Read poetry
- Rasheed Love - Read poetry
- Alexandria Pernell - Unity Queen
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