3 Contact Madeline Rardin, rardimr@millsaps.edu
A RTS & L IFE
In a world of beauty pageants... Commentary by Carpenter Stevens Staff Writer
In a world of screaming 5 year olds running from mothers chasing them around with a curling iron and hairspray, you would think that all beauty pageants are the same. Mothers, like those on the TV show “Toddlers and Tiaras” give their children up to the cutthroat world of beauty pageants that they believe is preparing them for life in the world. In reality, this world has been known to give children a distorted view of beauty and glamour. Some people say the experiences of these young girls are very different from pageants for older ages such as Miss America or the teenage Junior Miss Pageant. Generally, older pageant contestants have a choice to participate. However, the worlds do have similarities. Every young pageant girl, regardless of age, knows the tricks of the trade: • No pageant girl is anything without her hair piece • The bigger the curls, the bigger the crown
By Sara Sacks Staff writer
At first, it does not sound Miss Rodeo Mississippi pageant “I don’t support ‘beauty pagHairspray is like duct tape. It can hold anything to- like anything out of the ordi- in 2004. She describes her pag- eants’; however, I do firmly gether (even bathing suit bot- nary right? That is what the eant experience as “positive”. believe that pageants focusing on education, community toms to your actual bottom) support, and scholarship are • You may have positive and uplifting to those long eye lashes, but you who participate in them.” are not a beauty queen un“What does it mean to be less you can put on a fake beautiful? Just because you are eyelash in two seconds flat talented, run every day, have a • Be tan or fake it, but no good attitude, and are attracone likes a pale beauty queen tive, does that make you any You better fight, and you more beautiful than someone better win, and to win you who doesn’t play an instruneed all the tools of the trade. ment, dance, or anything else? This mindset of the conI argue no,” Richardson says. testants (and their mothers) With all the little girls getleads to stereotypes, such ting the perspective that as idiocy, that are somebeauty is sometimes skin times unfortunately upheld. deep, some hope that pagThe older contestants that Byline eants such as the Miss Rodeo hold prestigious titles are “Toddlers and Tiaras” contestant displays the suggestive nature of Mississippi, the Junior Miss sometimes just as smart as child beauty pageants. pageant or other pageants that the girls in TLC’s hit show. Miss America Pageant website “I had a wonderful, educatfocus on academic scholarship Miss Oklahoma’s introduction at the 2006 Miss America quoted her as saying. However, ing experience with the pag- will continue with a vengeance. Plenty of pageant girls thrive pageant in Las Vegas is a per- you would know that the word eant. My experience with the “elementary” was pronounced contestants in the pageant were on the support that winning fect example of this stereotype. Miss Oklahoma and contest “eliementerry” and the word productive and positive… None gives them for scholarship and winner Jennifer Berry said to “children” was said as “chillren”. of them were concerned with personal development. It takes Surely, not every contestant up- beauty or winning as the main certain awareness though, to the United States in the fakholds certain assumptions and goal” she says. This pageant also know that this is for scholarest southern accent possible, “Hey y’all! My name is Jennifer generalizations. In fact, other focuses on the sport of rodeo as ship and not simply a crown. Berry and I am Miss Oklahoma. types of beauty pageants involve a requirement for the queen, a In this cutthroat world, it is If I win Miss America I want to something of more substance. unique take on the distinction important to distinguish beGabrielle Richardson, a junior between a “beauty pageant” tween a spoiled little pageant become an elementary school at Millsaps, competed in the and a “scholarship program”. queen and a true beauty queen. teacher and teach small children.”
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“Buskapading” means life with less
Everything about the Buskateers from song lyrics to comments to instruments- reveal the band’s quirkiness and creativity. The Buskateers, a small but eclectic group of musically inclined travelers, recently made a visit to Millsaps. The group song’s like Apocalypse Love, a Star Wars Rap and an Anatomically Correct Dinosaur Song elicited laughter, applause and generous foot tapping. Along with a guitar and a tambourine, the band plays a ukulele, clarinet, nose flute, miniature washboard and an ancient instrument called “bones”. Originally “bones” were made from cow ribs. Today Ari Erlbaum, nose flute player and singer of the Star Wars rap, carves them from wood. Erlbaum learned to play the bones at a dance convention workshop. After seeing some of the best bones players in the world perform: “I was like, yeah, I gotta learn to play those things,” recalls Erlbaum. The nose flute has also been a large part of Erlbaum’s musical influence. “It’s been a tradi-
tion in my family to stock pile nose flutes,” he says. “To give them to people for their birthdays and to like always have a nose flute on you.” Pete Talbot, whose beard gets in the way of his nose fluting, describes his fondness for the ukulele. “I play a ukulele because I thought it would be really adorable”. “Everything you play on a uke is cute or sad, but it’s mainly cute.” The bus trip that brings the Buskateers from town to town originated with Talbot’s intentions to travel. Byline “I wanted to visit the The Buskateers fill the Kava House with laughter and jams. U.S., because I really Erlbaum joined the trip on None of their previous appearhaven’t before. So I built the Nov.13 and the bus continued ances had been on stage. The bus up and got it all ready and moving down the east coast. group calls it “busking,” or playI was going along and I thought The two Buskateers picked up ing to people on the streets. “It it would be way better to have and dropped off various friends was really neat tonight to play company,” he explains. as they made their way to Ath- when people were actually comTalbot and Erlbaum have been ens, Ga. where they met Dan ing to listen,” says Erlbaum. life long friends. Talbot says, “it Tinsley in early January. Surprisingly, music is not the just happened to work out that “We weren’t in a band until primary purpose of the Buskawe were both musicians.” Dan came along,” says Erlbaum. teers’ buskapades. “Creativity is “And both played ridiculous Though the Buskateers seem sort of a motivation in general,” songs,” laughs Erlbaum who as if they’ve graced the stage says Erlbaum. “So for Pete, the was inspired to play music by many times previous to their idea was to live on a bus and sell his summer camp counselor show at Millsaps, the boys had his art off of it.” Talbot. only played three times before. “I think we all wanted to do
something where we didn’t have to go into an office,” Talbot agrees. The big green schoolbus that plays home to the Buskateers has been converted to run on vegetable oil. The hand operated converter lives inside a plywood box, which takes up a large portion of the right side of the bus. The rest of the bus tightly contains a large disheveled bed, mess area, sink, bathroom and art desk about which various stuffed animal appendages are packed tightly together in cubbyholes. With these stuffed animals and miscellaneous recycled items Talbot makes what he calls “no death required taxidermy.” They are imaginative stuffed animal heads mounted on taxidermy plaques. The three Buskateers are a rare breed. “Live on a bus, it rocks,” says Erlbaum “it’s more efficient to need less than to have more.” Along the way, their experience with others has been overwhelmingly positive. “We’ve just met so many people who we didn’t really do much for but just entertain them with the idea of what we were doing, and they’ve jut been extremely hospitable,” remarks Tinsley.