Walsh Hall crowned Matt Gelchion, a junior from Fisher Hall, as Mr. ND 2007. The dorms's signature male beauty pageant parody was held Wednesday night in the LaFortune Ballroom.
The event was a fundraiser for the Catholic Worker House in South Bend, and each male residence hall paid $100 to sponsor a contestant for the Mr. ND title. Women's residence halls contributed $50 to have one representative participate in judging the contest.
In a series of dance, song and comedic performances, contestants from every male dorm, except Keough and Knott Halls, competed for a $100 first place prize.
Mr. Stanford, Justin Schneider, was first runner-up in the contest and winner of a $50 prize. Molly McCarthy and Elizabeth Berger, Walsh residents and hosts for Mr. ND 2007, presented the winners with checks and flowers.
The 12 contestants, dressed in jeans and white T-shirts, opened the night with a choreographed dance to Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend."
In the personality competition that followed, the contestants were asked to describe the outfit they had chosen to represent their personality.
The outfits were judged on originality, creativity and overall impression.
"Personality is probably the biggest thing I look for when judging," said Cristin O'Connor, a judge from Pasquerilla East.
The second part of Mr. ND 2007 allowed each contestant to showcase a talent. After this round, the top five contestants participated in a singing bee competition. That was followed by a question and answer segment.
After he was crowned Mr. ND, Gelchion, who participated in the competition last year, said: "It was great to do it for a great cause."
Schneider was pleased with his experience and plans on donating his $50 back to charity.
Claire Northway, a junior from Walsh Hall, organized Mr. ND 2007. Northway said the money donated to Catholic Worker House will help residents, who are otherwise homeless, to "be motivated by something, be in community and get back on their feet."
Northway expects the proceeds to exceed the $700 raised by the event last year. With 12 male dorms and the judges from the women dorms contributing, the total should surpass $1,000, she said.
