The Man Pageant at MHS is a fun and goofy decade-old tradition, where Senior males are voted upon by the rest of the class. The males perform a talent for an audience of upperclassmen, usually beside a group of cupids. Many prefer their ‘cupids’ to be close friends, since, let’s face it, it’s easiest to let loose and joke around on stage alongside the bros. However, the jokes can sometimes get overboard, despite administration’s efforts to keep the tradition respectful while fun.

Despite this being a “Man” pageant, there are no criteria other than being identified as male throughout the school and getting enough votes to be nominated. The entire senior class votes via Google Forms and chooses three people out of an alphabetic list of all senior males.

Although to many it may seem to be a harmless fun, it has caused controversy among others. Around 4.7% of 172  students surveyed disagree with the tradition, finding it tasteless or offensive. But Heart Week is meant to be a time of light-hearted fun and raises a lot of money for charitable causes. Especially because the country has good through some hard times recently, Heart Week should be a good distraction for many students. Yes, Man Pageant has caused a few controversies in the past, but the administration is working hard to make it enjoyable for everyone. As Mr. Erickson stated, “It takes years to build a tradition, but only one to break it.”

Of course, there have been some more questionable acts that have come out of the Man Pageant that lean away from being school appropriate. But administration hopes to combat that this year by screening all the acts beforehand and having a vice principal sit through the dress rehearsal. Erickson believes we should be proud of all the talented individuals our school has to offer, and the majority of acts have been “tasteful” in the past. The overall goal this year is to film the Man Pageant and put it on YouTube because we should not be ashamed of the actual talent that is displayed at the pageant; in fact, people are trying to make it even classier. The belief is that if there’s something in the Man Pageant that we wouldn’t want representing our school on YouTube, then something has to change to ensure we are not ashamed of anything in the pageant.

Whether or not you enjoy the Man Pageant, or if you’re an underclassman that isn’t able to attend, the overall goal is to have fun and help raise money during Heart Week.

Isabella Bennett