Rotestors Claim Pageants Hinder Women

r Volume 100, Issue 25 Tuesday, January 15, 1985 Fargo, North Dakota rotestors claim pageants hinder women - , By Gail Williams don't go with swimming suits real nion of women's learning leadership need to live up to men's ideal of fter the beauliful princess won well." " through pageant competition. She women, Peterson said. geant, she accepted her crown Caroline Melroe, co-director of the pointed out that Ronald Reagan and "I get affected. I get rated as an 8 p~ses, and lived happily ever Miss North Dakota-USA state Walter Mondale running for presi- or a 10, I get pinched in bars," she ·r-except that outside the . -pageant and director of The dent were not expected to remove said. · · · ant walls, protestors were say- Academy modeling school in Fargo, their clothes so the country could Peterson, however, said she. had ewhat she was domg . was com- said that while all Miss USA judge their leadership capabilities. been awarded a $20,000 academic able to pornography and' pro- pageants were primarily beauty Melroe said being a pageant con scholarship and that she had been in ution. - pageants, judges · based much of tes-tant meant being abte to talent pageants which allowed her to egina Schatz, an SU s~~ior ma their final decision on personal inter- discipline yourself. "YOU have to be retain her dignity-without having ng in fashion merchand1smg, was views. able to say no," to alcohol, tobacco to take any clothes off. Even the ently crowned · Miss .North "Lori feels anyone entering . a and junk foods, she said. By the evening gown portion of pageants ota·USA under these conditions pageant does nQ_t neeq to have in- same token, girls need to learn to are meant "tQ show how well you pageant held in Fargo. She said, telligence," Melroe said. discipline their bodies to keep them can look on a man's arm." ever, that although she . was She said girls competing fo_r Miss flexible, not let them go. - Schatz said while sh~ agrees with re there were protestors, she USA on the national level studied "You're never going to see fat or some feminist positions, such as n't see them, nor did the protests newsapers and national magazines handicapped people in a beauty equal pay for equal , work, she e any of the glow away from her such as the Times in preparation for pageant," Peterson said. The talent disagrees with some of their tactics. ory. · the pageant. portion of tpe Miss America pageant "A woman can assert herself ather than hurting the pageant, "If you knew the (difficult) ques- was "a smoke screen" to draw atten- wit hout being pushy, th_us maintain think they (protestors) gave us tions they ask," she said. tion away from the real purpose of . ing hei: femininity as well as her pro- _ e publicity," she said. _. "Can she talk?" Peterson sco.ffed. the competition_ · fessionalism," she said. he added that anyone wtio has Women in pageants are expected "It's 'let's go see the girls take r been exposed to pageants to starve themselves, revise their their clothes ·off,"' she said. ws the swimsuit competitions is faces with makeup and paint, and .Peterson said pornography,_ pro e in a tasteful manner, in conser pad their bras in order to win stitution and pageants are all part of Friendship families ive, one-piece bathing suits. pageants, Peterson said. She said . the same thing, though not to the ori 'Peterson, MSU senior, this was like tell1ng a black person same degree. All three encourage extend helping hand mber of Citizens ~Against Por he'd be entering a contest in which • violence against women by en to fore.ign students · aphy and pa,geant protestor, part of the competition was shining <;ouraging men to loo~ at them as ob the amount of material in the shoes and tap dancing. jects, as "pieces of meat" rather ' By Megan Rah,ton hing suits wasn't the point. "Jt's just as sexist as that ) s than as people. The basic purpose of the friend eant protestors -are not against racist," she said. • Entering a Qageant~o ot-ei\t..er- ship family is to help foreign ity or the human body, but · ScliaH, nowever:--saia~ pageants / ing a pagean.t was not really a mat students participate in the cultural her against the idea of rating teach skills such as discipline, ter of free choice, since women are and social life of the community, ac- en on their appearance, she leadership and communication thp.t taught from a young age that they . cording to Dr. John "Jack" Lynch, can be used in everyday life. · need to appeal to men in order to be director of Student Affairs at SU. You rate ~ars, you don't rate "It's a great motivator. It teaches accepted, Peterson said. Friendship families are fro1~i men," she said. you to become the best person you "It"s not just their choice - they're · Fargo-Moorhead and can be a single eterson said although she does can be-both inner and outer," she limiting the choices of other person or a family group. r swimming suits to the beach or said. womei:i,." she said. In order to bec,ome involved in the pool, she ~nds that "High heels All women are program, prospective s.tudents and families complete a questionnaire that measures compatability. Once a student and a family are matched, the family makes a commitment to develop a relationship with the stu dent for a minimum of one year. Friendship Family, a two-year-old program at SU, replaced the Host Family program which existed before for about 10 years. Because of problems the old program was revis ed, and the name was changed to prevent confusion. ' Friendship Families don't assume financial or legal responsibility for students, and the students don't live with the family. · G. "Padu'; Pad.manaban, a . graduate student from Malaysia stu dying cereal science at SU, is a par ticipant and coordinator for the YM CA of SU, a Friendship Family pro gram coordinator. "To date we have close to 60 families. There are more students than families. In the past few years we didn't have enough families so we matched one or two students to families who would be . capable of taking ·on more than one student," Padu said. · Some families.request four or fi~e students. "Students and families are .able -to reapply for other matches, ichael Sandness of Sig~ Chi fraternity catches up on his TV watcl:ling while spend!ng about 41· hours (but) $Orne want to remain with that ~ outside the fraternity in an enclosure. ·Sandness is raising $200 to $250 dollars for the Wallace Camp student so they don't reapply," he Children. The enclosure Is made up of 47 bales of hay and contains some of the comforts of home. said. oto by Bob Nelson) . family to page 2 The students and their families because Vietnam was recent history cereal science, and especially in the To combat immediate tr . often stay in contact long after their history at the time. field of polymers and coatings. c hanges, or1en. tations . are ans1 · arr contract expires, even when the Some students go home for a brief "You have to have a buffer not to as soon-as the students a . students return to their home coun time, but most don't see their real have a culture sh~ck when you come fr1en . di y fam1 ·1· 1es are able rrt1 ve tries. families at all during their academic here,'' Padu said. Transitions are the social cultural aspects 0 Abdoulaye Balde' of Senegal, a visit. "It all-has to do with money," . tough to make at first. tensively. lllo graduate · student studying Balde'. "I could go home for abqut Some cultural transitions that , Ly?ch gives the credit of th agricultural economics is also an ac $1,800 ro9nd trip for a month. I Padu and Balde' found they needed gram s. success to the ,, e tive participant in the Friendship would,rather keep that money and were getting used to doing things f am1· 1·1es w ho have been with corth Family program. He commented on travel here. I would like to go ha.ck, for themselves and becoming in gram for a long time." the situation facing a foreign stu but if you comp~re the money and dividualized. Recruitment of particip dent entering the United States. the time to full advantage ... " Balde' found the rushirrg of basically through word of an "The Family is very important. Lynch interjected, ."Of course, Americans unnerving. He doesn't but information.is also sent till . 0 When they come here they feel kind the.re are the telephones." understand the purpose of, people c h es,· c1v1c organization of lost so being with the (friendship) Padu and Balde' agreed. Padu saying "hi" in passing. "I would brochures are mailed to SU sfa family makes them feel more or less said, "You can punch out an 11-di'git rather not say anything to a person, and staff. at home." · .. number on telephone and say hello than just saying hi because it's the Lynch said that "the c Balde' feels that a lot of his ideas for the next fifteen minutes, but way it is ... " · families provide the ba·ckbon or about the American lifestyle have beyond that.. ," he laughed. Padu finds American fashion effi• program. W1t.

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