The newest fundraising plan from the freshman and sophomore classes is a female scholarship pageant, Miss Staley. You might assume this pageant will be the female version of Mr. Falcon, comical and not serious, but you’d be wrong. Miss Staley is being called a scholarship pageant, not a beauty pageant, but isn’t the Miss America pageant called that, too? 

     Girls are expected to heavily prepare for the pageant. There will be an interview, just like a job interview, with the rotary club that is 30 percent of the contestant’s score. Where is the career readiness portion for Mr. Falcon? 

     There will be an on-stage academic question based on the girl’s grade level, but Mr. Falcon contestants are asked what their idea of a good date is. For Miss Falcon contestants, these parts of the pageant will take heavy preparation, the same amount as a job interview or studying for a test. 

     The girls will also compete in talent, evening wear and team and activity apparel. These categories are being taken seriously for Miss Staley, where for Mr. Falcon the talent portion is taken as a complete joke. For example, last year at Mr. Falcon, Saul Armendariz-Lobera’s armpits were waxed by his girlfriend as his talent. If any girl went on stage to be waxed as her talent, would she win? 

     The talents that contestants are expected to perform in Miss Staley are legitimate talents. 

     When boys prepare for Mr. Falcon, they are able to throw their act together the day of rehearsals. The point of Mr. Falcon is to be funny, and people attend because they know the boys will be entertaining. It is always the big talk at school the next day. 

     Female comedians are just as funny as male comedians. Girls and boys have the same abilities to be equally entertaining. Why at Staley High School in the 21st century are we still treating boys and girls differently? Mr. Falcon and Miss Staley should have the same expectations and be judged the same. 

     Looks don’t matter in either pageant. Brains don’t matter in either pageant. The only thing that matters is how the contestants represent the school and themselves. 

     Miss Staley’s planners should reconsider how they will be running this pageant. Having one pageant involve more preparation and be more time consuming based on gender is unethical. Pageant planners should consider taking out parts of the Miss Staley pageant to match the Mr. Falcon pageant, such as making the talent portion a less serious act. Then, the female contestants could show more of their personality. 

     There is still time to make changes since the Miss Staley pageant will not take place until Dec. 1.