On Sat. Oct. 25, Alpha Xi Delta, a sorority on the Sonoma State University campus, hosted Xi man for the third year in a row. Xi man is an event on campus in which several different Sonoma State men compete in order to be crowned the next “Xi Man”.
Not only was this event filled with loads of entertainment for the audience, but it serves as the sorority’s philanthropy. This means that every cent that this event makes goes towards their chosen philanthropy, Autism Speaks. Autism Speaks is an organization that has been a source of funding into reachsearch about the causes and treatment of autism as well as conduct awareness.
“Xi man is a great opportunity for people of Sonoma State to get involved on campus and enjoy Greek life while supporting Autism Speaks and raising money for a good cause,” said Emily Klunis, a member of the Alpha Xi Delta sorority.
The night started out with all nine contestants doing a group dance. From there, the competition began. Each participant had to take part in four different segments throughout the evening. The first being a dress up portion in which every man had to dress up as their role model or what they aspire to be in the future. Many different outfits were presented on the stage, from fire fighters to real estate agents. Alec Legidakes won the award for best costume.
Following that segment there was a talent show where the men got to show off their talent of choice. The talents ranged from dancing, magic, singing, and a few others. The winner of the talent portion was Jake Salinero. He enchanted the crowd with his sweet saxophone playing skills.
“My favorite segment I think would have to be the talent portion. The guys get so creative and it is really entertaining,” said Kaitlyn Bradley, one of the coordinators of Xi man this year.
Next was the congeniality portion, this section allowed the audience and judges to get a better feel for the contestants because it allowed the men to show their best personality traits. The emcees of the night asked the men one question each and they had a short amount of time to answer them. The winner of this portion was Hogan Weaver. He took home the sash for best personality.
Lastly, the men got tested on some Alpha Xi Delta trivia. They got asked questions about their founders, the day their sorority was founded and much much more. All the men did pretty well in this section.
That concluded all the different sections of Xi Man. It was then time for the judges to look over their scores and choose who they thought should be this years new Xi man. After much deliberation, the judges returned to the ballroom in order to reveal the winner.
The winner of the 2019 Xi man was Derik Engebretsen, the contestant representing the soccer team. Derik was sure to captivate the audience every time he was on stage.
Overall this event did exactly what it was supposed to do, it raised money for a great cause and served as a great form of entertainment for Sonoma State students as well as whoever else decided to attend.
“I loved seeing all these guys come and support something that is so important to our chapter and they all worked so incredibly hard,” said Bradley.
