By Lyndsey Gilpin

In 2008, girls across the University of Louisville’s campus were given an opportunity for the first time in 40 years to participate in the Miss U of L pageant. The winner of this preliminary contest goes on to compete to represent our state as Miss Kentucky, and eventually Miss America.
Two years ago, several alumni of the Delta Zeta (DZ) sorority at U of L began researching the pageant, where they discovered that at the University of Kentucky, DZ sponsors the Mr. Kentucky contest and at Louisiana Sate University, DZ sponsors the Miss LSU pageant.  With this new information in hand, the alumni group began working with girls currently in the Beta Gamma chapter, eventually leading to the Beta Gamma chapter of DZ becoming sponsors in order to bring the pageant back to U of L just last year.
Jeanine Triplett, DZ alumni and the co-director of the Miss U of L pageant, worked for a year with sponsors and the school before the 2008 competition could even take place.
“We had to abide by the strict guidelines of the Miss America pageant,” said Triplett. “I’ve never done pageants myself, so we got some women on the committee who know more about it.”
So far, the competition has been gradually expanding. This year, there will be a community service award given to the girl who shows the most promise and passion about her service project. Last year’s winner, Ashley Miller, placed in the top ten at the Miss Kentucky pageant, and went on to win the Community Service Award for the Miss America pageant.
As the contest expands, so does the buzz about it around campus. Recent U of L graduate Christina Hall and her friends are planning to attend this year’s pageant to support the event and “take in the scenery.”
 “I have a lot of respect for the girls who are up there in this pageant,” said Hall. “And I’m really glad that DZ resurrected this pageant; I thinkt it can be an important part of U of L for a long time.”
Ten girls are competing for Miss U of L this year, compared to seven last year. Triplett said that the goal is to eventually have 15 to 20 girls compete for the title so that there will be more runner-ups and more scholarship money can be given to each winner.
“The amount of money we give out is actually a lot compared to most pageants in the state. We just want more girls to become involved so that they can be a face of the university and also get their word out,” said Triplett.
The pageant was open to all undergraduate and graduate women at U of L ages 17-24. Applications are available year-round for the contest online. The winner of the 2009 pageant will receive a $1500 scholarship. First runner up will receive $1,000, and second runner-up will receive $500. U of L president Dr. James Ramsey will also provide the winner with a scholarship of two one-half semesters tuition. The top three contestants will also receive gifts like a $500 gift certificate for a photo-shoot at Cosmo Modeling Agency and a one-year membership to the Louisville Athletic Club. The total amount of scholarships that will be given this year equal to $9,000.
According to Triplett, helping create an occasion like the pageant for the women at U of L has proved quite rewarding. 
“It’s a really great opportunity for girls to get themselves involved on campus,” said Triplett.  “The best part of last year’s competition was seeing the excited looks on all of the girls’ faces before they began and knowing that we helped them prepare for this experience that they may never have dreamed of.”
The pageant will be held tomorrow at 7:00 pm in the multi-purpose room of the Student Activities Center. Tickets will be on sale today for $10 at the Student Life Office in the SAC.