Alex Pratt finally became Mr. Pratt Friday.
The sophomore beat out other eight competitors to take home the title at the first Mr. Pratt competition. The contest, which freshman Steve Gangstead described as an "engineering-themed beauty pageant for men," included a question-and-answer session, a talent portion and a free-word association lightening round.
The highlight of the pageant, sponsored by the Society of Women Engineers to increase awareness of their organization on campus, was the talent competition, which featured Pratt in navy dress uniform serenading a judge with "You've lost that loving feeling" - an homage to Top Gun - and three freshmen singing a rewritten version of the Aladdin song "A Whole New World."
The remix of the Disney song - with lyrics by freshmen Zach Jones, Rahul Kak and Peter Golden that begin "Loser, bookrat/I don't buy that!" - featured lines lauding the life of engineers and propelled the trio into the final round, against Pratt.
Two engineering professors served as judges and determined who would compete in the final round and be crowned victor.
"We were going to get Pauly from Pauly Dogs to judge, but he had to take his son to a birthday party," said Heather Feinberg, vice president of the Society of Women Engineers.
Contestants attributed their success or failure to the initial round, a formal interview with questions ranging from "If you were a circuit element, what would you be?" to "Why would you make a good Mr. Pratt?"
Pratt answered the latter question with a brief history of the positive events - "the liberation of Kuwait" and "5 Duke ACC championships in recent years" - that have taken place over the last 20 years, since he was born and became literally Mr. Pratt.
"As the incumbent, I kind of had the advantage," he quipped after his win.
Although some rehearsed answers to questions beforehand, Matt Burney, a freshman contestant who competed with junior Tom Burney, his brother and a Chronicle columnist, attributed his defeat to a lack of preparation.
"My brother had prepared by pulling all nighters in Teer," Matt explained, "and I had prepared by going fishing all morning."
Jones, who was first runner up, said he might have won if he had performed better in the first round. When asked who he would like to have speak at the Pratt School of Engineering, Jones answered "Ronald Reagan."
"Perhaps that sentiment was not shared by the rest of the community," Jones said. "I regret answering truthfully." Close friends noted afterward that Jones has a preoccupation with the former president.
Although students who participated in the competition enjoyed their moments on stage, others were relieved to be in the audience.
"I saw the flyer to sign up and I was like, 'Yeah, maybe not,'" freshman Jud Killion said. Instead, he was among the 200 future engineers who watched the pageant from the tables in the Levine Science Research Center cafeteria.
All members of the audience received T-shirts with "Pratt" on the front and "The best looking people on campus" on the back.
Students have had mixed emotions about the shirts. Although some have worn them around campus already, several were slightly embarrassed by the text.
"I might save it for the gym," said freshman Katie Sullivan, adding that the free shirts were "the one good thing about being in Pratt."
In addition to his T-shirt, Pratt took home a red velour cape and a matching Burger-King-style crown for his win.
"You never know when you'll need a cape," he said. "I will cherish these prizes."
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.