Phi Gamma Delta, commonly known as FIJI, will host the fifth annual Miss Black Diamond pageant on Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. in the Performance Theatre of the Don Taft University Center to raise awareness and money for Broward Partnership, an organization aimed to help the homeless.
Jared Portnoy, junior biology major and member of FIJI, said that hosting this event is important to the FIJI brothers not only because it is tradition, but because it also allows the members to contribute to an important cause while growing stronger as a brotherhood. He said that watching his graduate and undergraduate brothers get together every year is really moving.
“It just allows us to show how we, as a fraternity, want to be involved in school. It also allows us to reach out to other social sororities like Delta Phi Epsilon, Phi Sigma Sigma, Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Delta Tau, as well as other organizations like Alpha Kappa Alpha and Medlife,” he said. “It’s just great that we can all work together to raise money for a great cause.”
Contestants will compete in four themed rounds, including casual, superstars, talent and formal. During the individual performances, FIJI brothers will judge contestants based on personality, humor, talent and their knowledge of the fraternity.
“After all [of these] factors have been considered, our judges will crown the winner as Miss Black Diamond, signifying her excellence in exhibiting our values and in representing our fraternity through one of our most iconic emblems, the black diamond,” said An Phan, sophomore chemistry major and FIJI philanthropy/community service chairman.
Each year, the fraternity aims to make their Miss Black Diamond pageant more memorable. The brothers change their theme each year, adding new perks, and although this is their second year partnering with the Broward Partnership for the homeless, the fraternity aims to donate to many more causes around the world.
Portnoy said that the fraternity got business sponsors for this year’s event and that there will be surprises for all attendees, including VIP-specific activities.
“We have a bunch of surprises in store that we have never really tried out before that I think will turn out well for us this year,” Portnoy said.
Phan said that a primary goal of the event is to unite students, faculty, staff and friends from different organizations, as unity is the most important message the FIJI brothers hope to send by hosting this event. They hope to not only unite the current and former FIJI brothers, but to also make connections throughout NSU by ensuring that every organization has a role in making this pageant even better than it has ever been before.
“The pageant this year features performances by some of NSU’s most talented organizations — the Riff-Tides and contestants from non-Greek organizations, such as Razor’s Edge,” Phan said.
As the brothers hope to build connections and strengthen the presence of unity here on campus, they said take pride in hosting an event that will ultimately donate the proceeds to a cause that is devastatingly prevalent in society.
“This philanthropic event is meaningful to us supremely because it directs much needed attention and donations towards one of the most overlooked epidemics in our country,” Phan said. “Everyone deserves a second chance and an opportunity to live life to the fullest.”
Women from every campus organization are encouraged to compete. The week leading up to the event, contestants are required to participate in activities that highlight their best qualities. These activities include volunteering alongside brothers at a service day hosted by Broward Partnership, helping promote the pageant through selling Miss Black Diamond T-shirts and competing in an Instagram challenge, in which contestants will look for brothers wearing their FIJI letters and take pictures with them. For every brother they find and take a picture with, contestants must post the photo with the hashtag “#missblackdiamond2015,” and at least one point will be awarded for each photo. Some brothers are worth more than others depending on their undergrad and grad status and what position they hold.
With the exception of $10 VIP tickets, the event is free to attend and open to all.
For questions about the Miss Black Diamond pageant or obtaining VIP tickets, call the Greek Life department at 954-262-7288, and for more information about FIJI, visit their national website at phigam.org/.
PHOTO CREDIT: PHOTO PRINTED WITH PERMISISON BY M. LOHWATER.
