Mr. Corrado and Mr. and Ms. Shipstad: a Tale of the Tape

Despite plenty of events occurred this week including the Minute to Win It Pilots After Dark event, the Fields Hall Spring Spectacular, The Upright Citizens Brigade Traveling team visit Mago Hunt Recital Hall, the Pilot Dance Team Spring Showcase, Fish’s Dodgeball tournament, and the Battle of the Bands in the Anchor, I am paying off the teases made last week about Mr. Corrado.

Mr. Corrado over the last few years has followed Mr. and Ms. Shipstad and usually has been viewed as the tamer version of the dorm-based competition until this year.  The final round of Mr. and Ms. Shipstad for the last several years was called "How Bad Do You Want It?"

Predictably within a college environment, some contestants were creative by crafting Astor Roth's College into an ode of the building, getting a tattoo of the Shipstad logo (an S overlaid over an anchor), or swallowing a goldfish.

Despite efforts from the coordinators to tone down the segment, contestants have branded themselves with an "S" for Shipstad, lick salt and hot sauce off their RA and tried to drink a gallon of milk while being pelted by cherry tomatoes.

In an effort to rebrand the event, the Shipstad Hall council, in conjunction with Staff and the office of Residence Life, dropped the round and replaced it with a series of Minute to Win It-style challenges in which contestants have to complete a given task within the allotted time, all in minute increments.

How similar are these two events that rely on the stereotypical export of residence halls, people willing to make a fool of themselves? Here's a hopefully objective comparison of the events.

Year of Origin:
Mr. Corrado- 2004

Mr. & Ms. Shipstad-1999

Number of contestants (2011): 
Mr. Corrado- 6
Mr. & Ms. Shipstad- 6 (3 male, 3 female)

Rounds:
Mr. Corrado- "Cribs" Video, Talent, Underwear, Question and Answer (Q&A), Tug of War

Mr. & Ms. Shipstad- Evening Wear, Talent, Q&A, Minute to Win It (formerly How Bad Do You Want It?)

Sample of Talents:
Mr. Corrado- Singing “A Whole New World”, singing and playing a montage of songs, dancing to a country song, solving a Rubik’s cube
Mr. & Ms. Shipstad- Singing an opera song, sing and dancing to “Singin’ in the Rain" with an umbrella, "Accents from around the World," an informal Q& A with a Scotsman, Tiffany from the South, and Svetlana from the Motherland.

Question Asked of a Contestant:
Mr. Corrado-If you were a zombie, which contestant would you bite first?
Mr. & Ms. Shipstad- If you were Hall Director for a week, what would you do?

Perspective of previous winners on this year’s event:

Mr. Corrado 2010, Ben - "I was amazed so many people chose singing as their talent. I was also pleased at how well the guys pulled off the opening routine.”

Mr. Shipstad 2010, Kyle- “It’s hard to compare to last year because this year did not have How Bad Do You Want It, but it was good. Some of the talents were interesting.”

Ms. Shipstad 2010, Lara- “Fun, entertaining, and showed that How Bad Do You Want It is not necessary for Mr. and Ms. Shipstad to be successful.”

Co-host view on the event:

Mr. Corrado- “Well organized by the Hall Council. Closing the doors brought a sense of anticipation to the event.”

Mr. & Ms. Shipstad:-“This was a great two-hour period where the building was able to come together.”

Qualifications:
Mr. Corrado-Male resident of Corrado, raise $50 for the Holy Cross Charity
Mr. & Ms. Shipstad-Resident of Shipstad

Prize for winner:
Mr. Corrado-Trojan helmet and plunger

Mr and Ms. Shipstad "Crowns"

Mr. & Ms. Shipstad- (Mr.) Hat  (Ms.) tiara, earrings and ring 

Perceived Core Audience:
Mr. Corrado-Corrado residents and female inhabitants of the West Quad
Mr. & Ms. Shipstad-Shipstad residents, East Side Quad inhabitants

Mr. Corrado 2011 Crowd awaits fun

Crowd size:
Mr. Corrado-close to 300 people
Mr. & Ms. Shipstad-close to 150 people

Location Held:

Mr. Corrado-Buckley Center Auditorium

Mr. & Ms. Shipstad- Shipstad First Floor Lounge

2011 Mr. and Ms. Shipstad Crowd awaits a retooled event

Overall, both events pleased their audiences with the exception of those who might have had high expectations, thought the talents were lackluster, or technical miscues compromised parts of the events.  No event can satisfy everyone, but these events allowed their respective dorms to allow a small section of the UP community to become a part of the dorm community, at least for two hours.

Have you been fortunate to ever attend either event?  If so, what did you think? 

Diversity Dialouge Week: Breaking Down Misconceptions with Humor, Food, and Discussion

This week, UP hosted Diversity Dialogue Week. The week featured different ways to understand those of different backgrounds from their perspective. Luckily, I had my camera ready to document the fun.

For full disclosure, I am of Western European descent and have not left the Western Time Zone, so my experiences are rather limited in terms of being a racial minority. I might be a numerical minority on campus, but societal norms dictate otherwise.

I started my excursion into cultural understanding at the Cultural Edition of Mythbusters on Monday afternoon in the International Student Center Lounge, located in the basement of Christie Hall.

This discussion, taking place during one of their biweekly "Coffee Hours",  lacked individuals in berets or a dummy damaged for the sake of science, however, the quick hour allowed for some myths to be busted while the few gathered enjoyed banana chips or Japanese cookies with their coffee or tea.

Thanks to Ibrahima Kone or "Ibie", one of the International Club Campus Connectors, originally from the Ivory Coast, American society is not full of opportunities to get shot and the Ivory Coast has a nightlife that goes far beyond 2 am.

From Ona Goloka, the other Campus Connector, American by birth, but occasional visitor to Poland, the group learned Poland is a country on the rise and not a backward civilization that is struggling to understand modern society.

Want to answer some of the questions yourself? Give it a try!:

The event also allowed me to explore the International Student Services Office setup.  The offices are decorated with items from the homelands of International students, like a Mirror from Tunisia or a gong.

Gongs are better than bells

Wednesday Night allowed me take on a different role of fashion show photo/videographer, an interesting experience. I was not able to catch the entire show, but I got to record their final walk, which will be posted soon.  The best outfit of the night? According to Haley Barrick, the honor went to a green ensemble not shown in the picture because the wearer had opted to wear several outfits and had changed out of the outfit by the end of the show.

Those able to honor their culture at the Espresso UP fashion show

My cultural investigation ended Thursday night with Black Students Union's (BSU) discussion about "good hair" and the documentary of the same name.

This is Marshawna illustrating a weave

After watching clips from the Chris Rock Documentary on Youtube, specifically the trailer, some perspective on perms, the cost of maintaining one's hair style, and a potentially vulgar clip pointing out the black male's view on touching a black woman's hair (NNSFW/C, not necessarily safe for work/class,) members of BSU explained the efforts needed to maintain their hair, some basic elements like what makes hair nappy (the inability to run your fingers or a comb through the hair) weaves, perms and relaxing (the straightening of one's hair through chemical means).

The atmosphere was conversational and honest, just like the rest of the week. This style worked well for David Bauders, who attended the event for an event review for SOC 436, Race and Ethnic Relations. David thought the conversational style helped him learn a lot about hair care products and maintenance because he or others were able to ask clarifying questions and feel like a real conversation instead of a lecture. 

The week allowed me to become a little more informed about people not like myself.  The programs were so successful, I wish I would have gone to previous events because the events possess tremendous amounts of effort to help people learn about other cultures. By no means, do I think I can do anything abroad as an expert, but I know this week was a start in the right direction.

Keep an eye out for Diversity Dialogue Week next year and do not hesitate to spend some time outside your cultural identity.

Things to ponder: When was the last time you were the outsider in a situation?  If you have studied or traveled abroad, how has that experience shaped your view of other countries or even America? If you have not been able to get out of the country, what culture would you most like to explore?