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First male to claim Queen title at Michigan Technological University

tacofrog2

February 2, 2020

9 upvotes

/r/MensRights

http://www.keweenawreport.com/news/local-news/male-student-claims-mtu-winter-carnival-queen-title/

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Post Information

Title	First male to claim Queen title at Michigan Technological University
Author	tacofrog2
Upvotes	9
Comments	9
Date	February 2, 2020 3:16 PM UTC (6 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/expszz/first_male_to_claim_queen_title_at_michigan/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/first-male-to-claim-queen-title-at-michigan.859813 https://theredarchive.com/post/859813

Comments

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points5 points 6 years ago (4 children) | Copy Link

[–]tacofrog2[S] 0 points1 point2 points 6 years ago (3 children) | Copy Link

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point2 points 6 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link

Normally this is a female arena of competition, with the mean girls stitching up the nomination for their queen bee, unless some underdog Cinderella can win hearts and minds. At least that's the impression I get from watching high school movies. And maybe mean girls aren't as much a thing in a tech school.

Can I ask why your fellow students thought the tradition was worth changing?

Is it to inspire young boys that they can be the queen of the ball too?
Is it a woke gesture, to show that your college keeps up with the trends from Berkeley? The shame of being a stale pale midwestern college dedicated merely to training excellent auto engineers?
Is it a tribute to the carnival tradition of crossdressing?
Is it a frat-boy joke rooted in your college's history as a predominantly male institution whose students, in between the monthly mixers with the young ladies of the Normal College, had to make their own entertainment, which might well have included putting a crown on a boy and calling him a queen.

[–]tacofrog2[S] 1 point2 points3 points 6 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link

So this is a tradition usually only enjoyed by the Greek life at the school. In past years, almost every candidate was sponsored by their sorority. And since most of the decision comes from a vote of the student body, it was pretty much a game of who was the most popular. However, the most active (co-curricular and extra-curricular) students are involved in greek life which is what brought local fame to the previous candidates. Now, as you can tell from the link above, most of the student body is male and STEM. Additionally, most of the student body is not involved in greek life. Which means, most of the student body really doesn't enjoy the event and following of "Winter Carnival Queen" because it's "always a sorority thing"

The other important thing to know with this story is the Michigan Tech Pep Band. The Pep Band has a long history and reputation for stunts that push the line of appropriate, while also being a very loved and energetic band. For example, the band performed a Monty Python-themed half-time show that involved a member breaking through a "membrane" while playing "Every Sperm is Sacred". Additionally, the band is banned from having instruments in some arenas because "they take away the home field advantage".

The Pep Band is also a student org that can enjoy the same benefits as other student orgs, like being involved with Winter Carnival, such as sponsoring candidates to Queen. The Pep Band sponsored him. I speak as to why he won Queen, but I do believe he won the vote by a landslide, because he didn't represent Greek life.

Soroities are known for having 'cliques', or being exclusive groups with large time commitments. Pep Band is not a large time commitment, so members are affiliated with other orgs and groups all across campus. I believe that he won because the student body wanted to end the tradition of exclusivity with Greek life, or that they wanted someone who didn't represent Greek life at all.

So a little to all your ideas. Except the cross-dressing.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point2 points 6 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point2 points 6 years ago (1 child) | Copy Link

[–]tacofrog2[S] 1 point2 points3 points 6 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–]Tossaway_no1million6 -1 points0 points1 point 6 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

[–][deleted] -3 points-2 points-1 points 6 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link