Stripping?

Yes. Pelvic thrusts? Yes. Great music? Yes. Roller-skating around the stage in a sequined jump suit? Yes. All of these were consistent components of the Mr. SHU 2009 contest.

Mr. SHU is Sacred Heart University's version of a male beauty pageant. That means the contestants all had to participate in the swimwear, talent, and formal wear sections amongst others, for the contest that took place Friday, April 24.

There were also three judges- a professor, a resident hall director and another that is a well known and beloved Chartwells worker.

Here at Sacred Heart, not just anyone

can participate in this annual event. Nominations began around the end of February and tryouts took place shortly thereafter.

It was then that the Mr. SHU hopefuls

had to prove they have what it takes. Once on stage, these men surely proved they were not about to hold back.

The show began by introducing each of the contestants individually with a short, filmed skit played on the large projector screen.

However, although Zach Johnston did not have his own video, his on stage performance featuring a memorable scene from the Step Brothers movie still seemed to catch the audience's seal of approval. Remaking popular television shows or songs was a popular theme for this section; and it was certainly not without laughs.

Jack Zider remade the theme song introduction to "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." Mike Casazza filmed his own rendition

of MTV's hit show "Cribs," and Danny O'Connor adapted his own eharmony.com commercial that were all hysterical and witty.

The group dance that followed was a crowd pleaser. These eight men had the moves down pat. The dance included a popular mix of songs with flamboyant twists and shaking rear-ends.

"My favorite portion of the night was the talent section," said junior Joseph Borchetta. "No one was afraid to dance like a fool or bare it all."

From Soule's provocative aerobic workout on stage to Johnston's air guitar performance of "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" by The Darkness, it was clear that no dance move was off limits.

The contestants dipped low, performed

splits, back flips, hula danced, attempted the infamous robot move and even a valiant effort at a triple axel on roller skates by Casazza.

"I thought Anthony Santos had the best talent because he played the piano," said junior Kevin Moore. "The others just danced around stage for most of their talent

and it was funny but not original."

By the end of the night it was a four-way tie for the elimination round between Soule, Casazza, Johnston, and Zider. Next, the remaining contestants had to participate

in the question and answer section.

"Why should you be Mr. SHU?" was the first question asked. The pressure was on as the contestants were immediately put on the spot.

"I think it was a really tight choice between the remaining contestants but I definitely think Jack's answer won over the judges," said junior Kelly McKeown.

When Zider was asked why he thinks he should be Mr. SHU he proclaimed that he was the only senior remaining on stage and has done so much for his four years at Sacred Heart, his college experience would be complete if he was crowned Mr. SHU.

So regardless of what exactly it was that won over the judges, finally it was time to crown the king. In the end, Casazza received the first-runner-up award, and Jack Zider was crowned Mr. SHU 2009.

From the exceptional enthusiasm and spirit the audience displayed all night, those eight men should pat themselves on the back.