Queen of the campus, she's Miss IUB

Standing on stage, patiently awaiting an announcement that will change the course of the next year of her life, IU sophomore Lindsey Roscoe stepped into the spotlight amid cheers of support from family and friends.\nOn Sunday, Roscoe was named Miss Indiana University 2007 in Alumni Hall at the Indiana Memorial Union.\n"When they called my name I felt my knees start to buckle," she said. "There was just so much tension. That moment was a great release."\nBut the journey leading up to naming the 2007 winner started long before the crowning moment. And the 15 contestants in this year's Miss IUB Pageant will tell you it was an experience well worth the effort. \nThey'll also tell you about some unusual ways to use glue and tape.\nA favorite sticky solution among the contestants involves a spray can and swimsuit bottoms -- which, according the girls, is a perfect fix for apt-to-slide swimwear.\n"We call it butt glue," said sophomore contestant Heather Bryan, "but it's actually spray adhesive that football players used to put on their hands." \nAs they primp and prep in a cloud of hair spray and glitter, the group of hopefuls talked about talent, friendship and the dreaded swimsuit competition. \n"The swimsuit competition is uncomfortable, of course," Bryan said. "No one likes to be half-naked in front of a room of people."\n"And in pageants there is always added pressure," said Miss IUB's first runner-up, freshman Rachel Bogle. "Unlike a sport where you have an entire other quarter or half to redeem yourself after a mistake, you only have a few seconds on stage to make it perfect."\nDone up, taped in and standing out, the ladies made each wardrobe and competition transition look seamless -- and still managed to avoid the stereotypical beauty-queen image.\n"This experience has been absolutely nothing like (the MTV reality show) 'Tiara Girls,'" said first-time pageant contestant sophomore Casandra Ringlespaugh. "Everyone has been wonderful." \nTo Bogle, the reason for the absence of the social stigma -- and bad publicity reminiscent of recent Miss USA scandals -- is the Miss America Organization itself. \n"Donald Trump is looking for beauty," she said. "Miss America is looking for the best all-around woman to represent them." \nAnd for IU in 2006, that woman was IU graduate student Betsy Uschkrat. Uschkrat, who won the Miss IUB title last February and went on to claim Miss Indiana in June, tearfully thanked each of her supporters and wished her successor "nothing but the best."\n"She's going to have an amazing year ahead of her," she said. "And all of IU behind her."\nAlong with Uschkrat, Roscoe competed in last year's Miss Indiana pageant, placing in the top 10.\n"Experience was definitely in her favor," Uschkrat said. "She was beautiful on stage and exemplified the whole package that the judges were searching for."\nAs Lindsay Shipps Etienne, executive director of the Miss IU Pageant, said, to prepare a contestant for a state or national pageant, "it takes a village."\nThe newly crowned Roscoe will have four months to prepare for the Miss Indiana competition this June in Zionsville, Ind. \nAside from a ticket to the state competition, which will mark Roscoe's second appearance at the Miss Indiana Pageant, she also walked away from Sunday's competition with $3,500 in scholarships and $600 in gift certificates from local businesses.\nAnd as the lights came up on a dream-come-true scenario for the newly tiara-topped blonde, her mother, Jan Roscoe, held a video camera on her smiling daughter.\n"People were telling me that Lindsey should be in pageants for years," she said. "And she just loves to perform. I know this win means a ton to her."\nEven three hours after the end of the pageant, the woman introduced as contestant No. 5 still hadn't let her victory sink in.\n"It really hasn't hit me yet," she said. "I had to ask my mom for a program for everything that I had won, but I'm excited and grateful, very grateful"