Mr. Hamilton

by Olusade Oyalowo '14
FEATURES CONTRIBUTOR

He’s talented. He’s attractive. He’s every girl’s dream come true. He’s Mr. Hamilton.

On Wednesday, Feb. 15, Michael Bethoney ’11 acquired the crown at the third annual Mr. Hamilton competition sponsored by One Heart With Africa.

The night began with a performance by the dance team, which students raved was the highlight of the night. The next portion of the show was the swimwear; the ladies (and men) went wild when Hamilton’s finest strutted their stuff in boxers and swimming attire. For the talent portion, numerous contestants performed a lip synch/dance combination to popular songs such as Justin Bieber’s “Baby” and Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me.”

Although the crowd appeared entertained and was singing along, some students were not won over. Victoria Harbour ’14 states, “I’m not that impressed [with the performances]; you could tell who put effort into it and who didn’t.” Other performances included rapping, saxophone and guitar playing.

But when Bethoney appeared on the stage, the crowd (especially the girls) went crazy. What started out as an amazing and organized hip-hop dance number ended up in near-nudity. When asked about his grand finale he said, “I think in general everyone enjoys a little public nudity.”

After the talent portion, the step team followed up with a performance, which was a huge crowd pleaser. Then the formalwear/question and answer portion proceeded. Before the winner was announced, HEAT performed a dance routine as well. After much anticipation, Bethoney was crowned Mr. Hamilton with Alex Thompson ’13 as runner up.

All the money that was raised from t-shirt sales and donations will be given to the campus organization. Once One Heart with Africa achieves its goal of raising $5,000, they will send the money to the non-profit organization Charity:Water to buy a well in Africa and name it for Hamilton College. Charity:Water serves to bring clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

The cause attracted students to participate in and attend Mr. Hamilton. Knute Gailor ’13 said, “It was for a good cause so I decided to participate.”
Bethoney said, “There are too may social injustices on our campus, our country and the entire world, but tonight was all about raising money for a great cause and having a good time doing it.”