This week marks the beginning of Pi Kappa Alpha’s fourth annual PIKE Dream Girl Competition. The winner, a UA sorority member, receives a $500 scholarship.
“The title of a PIKE Dream Girl is one of honor, and is reserved for women who are not only beautiful, but also inculcate values becoming of a mature and successful woman: Integrity, intelligence, involvement and sincerity,” said Chris Kang, the head of the PIKE Dream Girl Committee.
The process of becoming a Dream Girl is not an easy one: Sorority women from all 12 Panhellenic chapters send in applications, and from there the Dream Girl committee narrows it down to the top 40 women.
After that, the chosen women attend a mixer where they are judged on their personality and connection with the men of PIKE. Once the members of PIKE get a feel for the applicants, the pool is shortly narrowed down to 24, then to the top 12.
“We are implementing something new to the competition this year for the Top 12; [a] final presentation, or showcase,” said Kang. The showcase includes an evening wear portion, a question and answer session and a talent competition.
“If the ladies feel they may lack a talent, we don’t want to hold that against them,” Kang said. “In the past, our top-12 girls have [given] speeches, desserts and presented a video or PowerPoint.”
These ambitious contestants are under a lot of pressure. Freshman engineering major Megan Marquiss is a top 40 finalist in this year’s Dream Girl Competition, and she knows firsthand the stress the competition entails.
“I know a lot of PIKEs already, but I thought of this as an opportunity to meet more,” Marquiss said. “PIKE is my favorite fraternity and I wanted to support them. I believe they are looking for a girl who can hang out with the guys and support PIKE no matter what.”
The process to be a Dream Girl is long and intimidating, especially for a freshman who is new to the Greek community, but Marquiss remains confident despite the fierce competition.
“There are so many gorgeous girls competing with me, but we all carry unique qualities. I am down to earth, and I believe I can be the dream girl the PIKE men are looking for,” she said. “Also, it always helps that I can flirt.”
The PIKE Dream Girl Competition is renowned throughout the Greek community, but not everyone embraces it wholeheartedly.
“Fraternities are supposed to build men that respect women, not objectify them based on a scale and what letters they wear,” said Chase Dickson, a sophomore and member of another fraternity in UA Greek Life. “It is degrading to the Greek system.”
The competition has been known to cause tension within the Greek community.
“The worst part of the Dream Girl competition would have to be turning girls down and making the cuts the next round,” Kang said. “The last thing we want is to tarnish our relationship with those girls and their houses.”
