This upcoming Friday at 7 p.m. in Edwards Auditorium, the sisters of the University of Rhode Island’s Delta Phi Epsilon chapter will be hosting the second annual Deepher Dude, a beauty pageant featuring fraternity men. The aim of this event is to raise money and awareness for cystic fibrosis.
As one of Delta Phi Epsilon’s main philanthropic causes, every chapter across the nation hosts their own Deepher Dude pageant.
“Cystic Fibrosis is a disease that affects the mucous membrane inside the body,” explained junior philanthropy chair Allie Stift. “It affects mainly younger people and the life expectancy has been growing, but we are still working with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to help find a cure.”
Deepher Dude allows Delta Phi Epsilon to educate the community and raise awareness while also bringing community members together for a fun and interactive event.
“I really like being able to put together a fun event for the community to attend while also raising money for a great cause,” Stift said.
As philanthropy chair, Stift has spent countless hours planning for and organizing the event since the conclusion of the 2017-2018 academic year.
This year’s pageant will feature male competitors from nine of URI’s on-campus fraternities. Contestants will be representing Zeta Beta Tau, Sigma Chi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Phi Gamma Delta, Phi Kappa Psi, Theta Chi, Kappa Sigma, Pi Kappa Alpha and Lambda Chi Alpha.
Last year’s winner was Joshua D’Ambra, brother of Phi Kappa Psi. “I liked getting to meet everyone and feeling a part of the whole DPhiE community,” D’Ambra said. “[The] RIC chapter was there too so it was huge. Some of my brothers from Phi Psi came to support me too!”
The pageant will feature three different segments. The night will being with a shirt reveal. Contestants will sport three different shirts, first donning a URI top, then stripping the layers away to reveal each man’s fraternity letters and finally a Deepher Dude shirt.
Contestants will also participate in the talent portion of the evening. “Some guys will be singing, guitar playing and backflipping,” Stift said.
After the talent segment concludes, contestants will be escorted on stage by a senior Delta Phi Epsilon sister for the question portion of the evening, before wrapping up and crowning the winner.
“I think the impact [of the event] was significant because we raised some funds and I got to play music for a lot of people,” D’Ambra said. “It was awesome!” Last year’s event raised over $2,500 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in its inaugural year. Organizers and participants hope this year’s pageant will be just as successful.
Tickets for the event may be purchased at booths in the memorial union, or through the URI DPhiE Venmo for $7 or $10 at the door.