Putting on a show for a cause

Logan McGaheran, Writer

On Saturday, March 6 at 7:00 p.m., the annual Mangeant took place at the OHS Auditorium. The Mangeant is an event where male students participate in a beauty pageant to help raise money for charity during OHS’s annual cash drive. This year, OHS is raising money for Rachel’s Light, an organization that helps give women and children from the community a safe place to live and provide food, water and emotional support.

The competitors for this year’s Mangeant were freshman Nathaniel Ranslow, sophomores Henry Bon and David Smith, juniors Hunter Johnson, Gavin Karow and Jay Wieman and seniors Ashton Jensen and Nicholas Pilcher. The event was hosted by two student council members with the help of eight “weather girls”. The challenges the contestants competed in were drawing a portrait of their assigned weather girl, a lip sync battle, a talent show, an interview with the hosts and three cash dashes. Jensen said, “My favorite part is just seeing other guys succeed and have fun.” At the end of the Mangeant, a panel of judges determine who the winner is based on how well they did in the challenges and how much money they helped raise.

After a night of laughs, cheers and applause, Jensen was dubbed as the winner of the 2021 Mangeant. Jensen said, “It feels really good to help people in need with Rachel’s Light, it also felt good since I’ve been a part of it all of high school every single year.” Even though there was only one winner crowned, every contestant won in their own right by helping raise money for a good cause.

As with every other event this school year, the Mangeant had to make some changes to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic. Student Council adviser Ms. Sandra Justice said, “This year we did not do the make-up portion and instead had the contestants draw. Additionally, we had masks and had a limited audience.” Despite having to change aspects of the event, the Mangeant still succeeded in helping raise almost $1,000 for Rachel’s Light and be a part of the 2021 OHS Cash Drive.