Daily Staff Writer

Sparkling gowns, camera flashes and spotlights filled the Great Hall of the Memorial Union on Thursday evening as the men from Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity hosted the Miss Black and Gold Scholarship Pageant, themed “Queens of the Nile.”

Craig Barton, senior in finance, and Ogewu Agbese, senior in aerospace engineering, co-coordinated the event and said that the pageant was their fraternity’s way of showcasing the intelligence, talent, excellence and unparalleled beauty of the District of Iowa.

Barton said the reason the pagaent is called the Black and Gold pageant is because black and gold are Alpha Phi Alpha’s colors.

Barton and Agbese are two of six members of Iowa State’s Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, who have put many hours into planning the event.

“We’ve been planning this all semester,” Barton said.

The pageant, which hasn’t occurred since 1994, was re-introduced this year with seven women competing for the scholarship and the crowning of Miss Black and Gold, “Queen of the Nile.”

“This is a program that is happening across the nation,” Barton said.

Contestants were recruited on both the ISU and Drake campuses.

“We held informationals and put out flyers,” Barton said.

Danyale Taylor, senior from Drake University, was one of the seven contestants.

She heard about the contest from one of the flyers posted around campus.

“I was nervous before [the pageant], but I’m not nervous anymore,” Taylor said.

There was an application process and interviews held for the ladies.

“[We] started with 25 prospects and after going through the process, it came down to seven committed ladies,” Barton said.

Amanda Matchett, sophomore in marketing and member of Kappa Delta sorority, said she was amazed by the event.

“[It’s] only eight guys who do all of this. It’s really phenomenal,” Matchett said.

The brothers of Alpha Phi Alpha are helping the women of Kappa Delta put on their annual Shamrock event later in the year.

“They help us, so we want to support them,” Matchett said.

Other audience members were there to watch their friends in the pageant.

“I’m here to support my friend, Tiffanie,” said Duneesha Walker, freshman in interdisciplinary studies.

Brittany Overstreet, sophomore in communication studies, was crowned Miss Black and Gold at the end of the pageant.

However, because of some glitches in her application process, Overstreet’s win is yet to be formalized.