Mr. DHS Reimagined
COVID has brought many challenges to the senior class, but that wasn’t stopping six boys from strutting their stuff in the tenth annual Mr. DHS pageant.
Going from left to right, Gable, Connors, Croson, Mikita, and Patton, take a group picture after an exhausting practice of recording their talents. Gatiru and Lutz were not able to attend.
It’s the third trimester of the 2021 school year and Dallastown senior boys are preparing their best talents for an annual tradition, the Mr. DHS pageant.
No matter how different things may be.
While the last year has been everything short of normal, that wasn’t stopping DHS student council, under the advisory of Mrs. Boyd and Mrs. Huyett, from giving six dedicated senior boys the chance to be crowned Mr. DHS at this year’s event.
This year’s pageant contestants are Matthew Mikita, Sam Patton, Brooks Gable, Gavin Connors, Sam Gatiru, and J.T. Croson.
Mr. DHS began 10 years ago, and the event consists of three rounds, the talent, the formal wear Q&A, and the group dance.
The talent event is sure to be a crowd-pleaser with singing, hula hooping, ribbon dancing, and weight lifting.
“My inspiration for ribbon dancing came from the movie Old School when the character Frank “Will Ferrell” did a routine,” said Mikita
Mr. DHS has always been held in the high school auditorium with a large, live audience. Tickets for the event cost just a few dollars, and money is donated to the senior class.
This year things have slightly changed in order to meet CDC guidelines.
Instead of a live event, the contest will be pre-recorded and pushed out to the public in late May.
Mikita said, “While I wouldn’t mind an audience, I am still enjoying the uniqueness of this years Mr. DHS”
In addition, the formal wear portion of the evening will no longer feature boys in borrowed prom dresses.
There was worry that contestants in dresses could come across as mockery rather than formal wear for entertainment purposes. This concern led the administration to re-think the tradition.
Instead, the boys have chosen to wear sports uniforms and other team attire during the Q&A section of the pageant.
Another change includes a later date for Mr. DHS than in the past.
Corona quarantine shutdown practices for a few weeks and pushed back the recording dates for the event.
Patton has been looking forward to this moment since his freshman year.
“I had just always loved to entertain people and this seemed like a good opportunity for it. I’ve never had a problem with being myself in front of people so that was another big part of it.”
Due to Patton’s sense of humor, he believes the Q&A section is a guaranteed win for him.
“I think I will win the Q&A, I really liked my answers as we recorded and everything went really smoothly,” he said.
However, no matter who wins the six boys will be happy.
Patton expressed that “I think we’re all okay not winning and will be happy with whoever does.”
Student Council President Maddie Rodriguez is in charge of Mr. DHS and everything behind the scenes.
She is ecstatic that the school has allowed for the man pageant to take place this year.
“I am so beyond excited that we are still able to have Mr. DHS even though we do have the current set back of not being able to host the live event. I think this performance is always something a lot of people look forward to and we are just happy we are able to still do something for the senior boys, and the school as a whole,” Rodriguez said.
She is also blown away by how dedicated and well-behaved the boys are.
Rodriguez has been on Dallastown student council for several years and always hears stories on how the Mr. DHS contestants usually have to be wrangled to get anything done.
“In the past, I felt like Mrs. Boyd and Mrs. Huyett have had to step in a lot and in a way control the boys because they can be out of hand, but that has almost never had to happen this year, and I think we all appreciate how well behaved the boys have been while still having fun and enjoying what they’re doing.”
Practices have been difficult as the boys have had to maneuver around school sports, work, and other after-school activities.
Overall, they have done their best to make the two-hour practices that are held twice a week.
So stay tuned and get your popcorn ready from the comfort of your own home, as Dallastown High School prepares to crown a new Mr. DHS no matter how different things may be from the past.
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