The University will not be holding a Miss Nicholls State University pageant, as part of the Miss America franchise, after Women Involved in Self-Empowerment circulated a petition in opposition to the pageant for more than a month.WISE is an organization that focuses on empowering women. The petition process began when group members heard about the proposed pageant and researched the rules and the qualities the contestants would be judged upon. The organization was disappointed to find that most of the pageant centered on appearance, WISE president Aimee Miller said.

“We believe a representative of Nicholls should be based on what she has to offer academically and through the community service she offers,” Miller said.

More than 200 individuals, both men and women, signed the petition WISE circulated from the date it began Feb. 19 through March 16 when it was submitted.

The organization was also concerned about the financial aspect of the pageant, which would have cost the University a franchise fee of $400 to use the pageant’s name, in addition to costs associated with printing programs, decorations and awarding a scholarship for the winner.

“With all the budget cuts, we didn’t think this was the best way to utilize our campus budget,” Miller said.

Miller submitted the 208 signatures, along with a letter, to Eugene Dial, vice president of student affairs and enrollment services. The letter expressed various reservations regarding a possible pageant.

Miller first conveyed concern about the franchise’s emphasis on “physical fitness and health.” While some students not the size of a typical beauty queen might still be content with their bodies, the pageant essentially tells those individuals “they are not good enough,” which can negatively influence their self-esteem, Miller said.

Miller also outlined the restrictions the pageant placed on its contestants. All participants, according to the franchise contract, would have to have been a Louisiana resident for at least six months before the start of the pageant. This would prevent out-of-state and international students from competing.

Another setback was the contract’s age stipulation. Contestants would have to have been between the ages of 17 and 24 at the time of the pageant-a criterion that excludes about 35 percent of the female University population, according to the Nicholls Assessment and Institutional Research Web site.

Other restrictions in the contract state that women must be single and never married. It also disqualifies women who are pregnant or have ever been pregnant.

In concluding the letter, Miller suggested the University utilize the money that would be spent on the pageant in ways that would benefit the entire student body rather than just a few students.

“The University should do something more meaningful with the money; such as extending library hours by one or two hours a night during finals week,” Miller said. “If we cannot afford to extend library hours, which would be beneficial to the University community as a whole, then we believe it would be frivolous to spend money on a beauty pageant.”

Dial responded, notifying WISE that there would be “no Miss Nicholls State University beauty pageant this year or at any time in the future without extensive consultation with students, student leaders and student groups.”

“He said that a program like that should be student-initiated, and it was initiated by a staff member,” Miller said. “Since there were so many students against the pageant, I think the petition helped.