ZTA hopes to raise $115,000 at BMOC

Friday night, junior Nate Schnader will be trying to pull off his best David Hasselhoff impression to fight breast cancer.\nIn fact, Jack from “Titanic,” Nemo and Popeye will all make appearances on campus Friday. “Bon Voyage! Cruising for a Cure” is the theme of Zeta Tau Alpha’s annual “Big Man on Campus” competition this year. \nBMOC, an all-male talent show which donates its proceeds to the ZTA Foundation to help fight breast cancer, will take place at 7 p.m. Friday in the IU Auditorium.\nZTA hopes to raise $115,000 from the event to top last year’s $112,000, said Ashley Spataro, assistant philanthropy chair of ZTA. \nThe event is “set up like a beauty pageant” with dance numbers and culminates in the crowning of the official “Big Man On Campus,” Spataro said.\nSchnader said his costume is what gives him an edge on the competition.\n“Well first off, you (should) come to the show and see my outfit,” Schnader said. “My David Hasselhoff impression is quite bad, but entertaining to be honest.”\nMost of the 21 men selected to compete had never before even thought of dancing, Spataro said. \n“It was really fun just watching them struggle through it,” she said. \nSchnader agreed that dancing was a bit of a challenge.\n“Definitely the hardest part was learning the dance,” he said. “That’s what all the real time commitment was. Just over and over: the same dance. But we finally knocked it out.”\nZTA Chapter President Lindsey Tenbarge said each of the 21 contestants, who represent different fraternities and organizations on campus, will be judged on their talent, creativity, how much money they raise and overall morale for the cause – one of the biggest factors. \n“It’s more than just money – it’s the cause,” Tenbarge said. “It’s really important that the boys convey that to us.”\nSchnader, a second-time contestant, said he was able to raise more than $4,000 last year and hopes to make it $10,000 this year. He said he considers it big numbers for a big cause.\n“Every three minutes someone is diagnosed with breast cancer,” he said.\nAnd even though the evening is fun, the show extends beyond entertainment value. \n“... It also shows what our cause is about and who we’re doing it for,” Spataro said. \nSpataro said the event will also have speakers who have survived breast cancer, and Grammy-winning IU faculty member Sylvia McNair, who has battled breast cancer, will sing.\nThe creativity and enthusiasm for the event help it to be so successful, Schnader said.\n“Having something creative like this that really gets people from all over campus involved,” he said. “It really gives all the students something exciting to come and see (to) get their eyes averted to this cause.\n“I’d love to win,” Schnader said, “but that’s not really what it’s all about. (The cause) is what really matters.”\nRemaining BMOC tickets can be purchased Friday at the IU Auditorium box office for $12 each.