Kansas State University - Royal Purple Yearbook (Manhattan, KS)

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Pageant Finale Preparations and hopes for the crown end after preliminaries. PHOTOS BY JEFF COOPER STORY BY ROCHELLE STEELE The futures of rested on a list 10 names. As the host read the last name, the realization sunk in for Amanda Carraway — she would not be Miss USA. Carraway, Miss Kansas USA and junior in journalism and mass communications, said she felt she might not have made the cut after the host read the first few names. You can usually tell by the third name because there ' s kind of a pattern. I started to get a feeling, and I looked out at my family and thought, ' Well, it ' s not my night. ' ' ' It was not her night, but it was an important evening for the delegates, who represented all 50 states and the District of Columbia in the Miss USA Pageant. CBS televised the Feb. 5 event from The Grand Palace in Branson, Mo. After the announcement of the finalists, Carraway said she talked with other contestants backstage. A lot of the girls were really upset and were crying backstage, she said. I just got out a little bag of cookies that I had, and some of us sat back there and talked until we had to go back on stage. Since contestants could not re-enter the pageant, Carraway ' s dream of becoming Miss USA and months of preparations drew to an end. Carraway said she worked out, chose her wardrobe trained with an interview coach and prepared mentally the months prior to the event. continued on Page 29

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Ghostly Theatre by Molly Mersmann Legend of haunted theater draws audience to plays. the legend of the ghost of East Stadium to draw an audience, the theater department hosted a night of student-written plays based on a ghostly or supernatural theme. From 11:30 p.m. to 1:30 a.m., Oct. 16, more than 80 people ventured into the Purple Masque Theatre, located in East Stadium, for Midnight Madness. It ' s an attempt to create something free and fun, Charlotte MacFarland, coordinator of the event, said. Something entertaining and a little bit risky. Students anonymously wrote plays and submitted them before the event began. Each play, about three to five minutes long, was uncensored, unedited and performed by audience members who sight read the script. The only stipulation was the play had to mention the word ghost, spirit, or center its theme on the supernatural. The scripts were great, Chris Piatt, junior in theater, said. People had a good time. The audience was very responsive. This is the reason we love theater. Some students based the whole script on a ghost story while others only mentioned the word spirit once. The scripts were not written until two or three days ago, Piatt said. To see so many cold readings was great. It was good to see the crowd into it. The idea of Midnight Madness came from other schools who had similar programs in their theater depar tments. MacFarland said she thought it would be a good way for students to have their works read, as well as increase awareness of the theater department. A lot of colleges around the country are doing this, MacFarland said. We to try it here at K-State. Following the play, Megan Nelson, junior in theater, led the audience on a candlelit tour of the theater, telling the story of the ghost, Nick, who she suspected still lived in the theater. According to legend, Nick was a football player who died of a broken neck in what is now the Purple Masque, during a football game. I ' m real sensitive to spirits, Nelson said. I can usually tell where he ' s at. He ' s upstairs right now. Nelson led the group upstairs to a hallway. Nelson said she sensed Nick was angry because of the large audience. When the group began to leave, someone screamed. He ' s not real happy that we ' re here, Nelson said. He took the candle from my hand and threw it to the ground. Nelson explained it wasn ' t her — nor others — first encounter with Nick. MacFarland recalled rehearsing one night and seeing a figure. When she tried to chase after it, it disappeared. Another late night, Nelson said she saw a shadowed image of a young man wearing what looked like a football uniform. Although the plays were the focus of the evening, the story of the ghost attracted most of the audience members to the event, Piatt said. All of us knew from the beginning that the Nick story would be a great crowd draw, Piatt said. We just knew it was a creepy place to hang out. That ' s what people want. Audience members laugh at one of the plays. Some authors chose to remain anonymous, but most took credit for their works. (Photo by Clif Palmberg) 25 midnight madness

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Miss Kansas USA Amanda Carraway, junior in journalism and mass waves to family and friends during the second commercial break of 48th Miss USA ageant Feb. 5 at the Grand Palace in Branson, Mo.