The audience raucously applauded the evening’s varied entertainment, which ranged from flamenco-inspired Spanish dance and a Tae Kwon Do combat scene to an interpretative painting with roller skates, among many other humorous and unusual segments.

The pageant took place beneath a rainbow-colored “Miss Harvard” banner decorated with “VANITAS” seals. After introducing themselves in a “First Impressions” segment, contestants strutted their stuff in the beachwear portion and faced off in a talent show. The three finalists also endured short interviews.

Four women and four men competed for two awards—the Miss Harvard title, which was judged by four University administrators, and a Miss Congeniality distinction that the contestants voted on themselves.

The men were clearly the winners of the evening.

They swept both awards, and only one of the three finalists for Miss Harvard was, in fact, a woman.

And the women might not get another chance. Adams, who competed under the pseudonym “Anita Mann,” could be the first and last holder of the Miss Harvard title.

The pageant’s sponsors, IMPACT—a group that raises funds for children in developing nations—say that the $970 profit they earned might not make up for the amount of work that went into making Miss Harvard happen.

“We tend to repeat successful events, but this was very taxing in terms of work for planning, much more so than say, our dance, which garnered more profits,” IMPACT President Laura P. Perry ’04 wrote in an e-mail. “It will depend on the feeling of the board next year.”

W. Lucien Smith ’03, a veteran of the Immediate Gratification Players improv troupe, emceed the pageant.

Although he said he is a novice to the beauty pageant scene, he won the crowd early with an uncanny impression of President Bill Clinton.

“Throughout my career, public and private, there have been two things I have had an unwavering commitment to,” the Mississippi native began in flawless Southern drawl, giving a Clinton-esque thumbs-up.

“One is underdeveloped nations,” he said. “The other is women in tight little dresses.”

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Athletic Recruiting: The Ivies Scale Back

Monday, October 29, 1951