Not just eye candy

Blair is bursting with spirited men and women. Each has a unique talent and pizazz. Once a year, the cream of Blair's crop come together to fight for the glamour and the prestige of being crowned number one.

It's time for the third annual Mr. Blazer competition, to be held this Friday evening at 8:00 p.m. in the auditorium. Contestants will be judged by a panel of teachers on their performances in the formal wear, talent and question-and-answer divisions to find out which Blazer blazes the brightest. Silver Chips' entertainment editor has carefully examined each of the hunky upperclassmen contestants in the running—it's a hard job, but somebody's got to do it.

•Name: Sean Cooney
•Grade: senior
•Number of previous Mr. Blazer competitions: two (last year he lost first place to 2001 graduate Uche Iwugo in the tie-breaking round)
•Where the stuff's at: "Singing, playing my trumpet, making a fool of myself and having as much fun as possible" with junior Alex Hutchinson on drums and senior Mehran Mizani on bass
•His magic touch: "I've learned that if I'm really into it, I want everyone to know. I don't know what's going on. I just go crazy."

•Name: Chris Jackson
•Grade: senior
•Number of previous Mr. Blazer competitions: one
•Where the stuff's at: Rapping the words of his soul
•What he'll do if the going gets tough: "I have something up my sleeve that I'm not going to reveal yet. It might just work out."

•Name: Tom Johnson
•Grade: junior
•Number of previous Mr. Blazer competitions: zero
•Where the stuff's at: Performing a self-composed skit
•His only regret: "I kind of wish I could have done it last year because I would have liked to take my clothing off."

•Name: Peter Johnson
•Grade: junior
•Number of previous Mr. Blazer competitions: zero
•Where the stuff's at: dressing up in 70s garb, strutting and rapping "We Tryin' to Stay Alive" by Wyclef
•What the audience has to look forward to: "It'll be funny. I'm going to look dumb up on stage."

•Name: Socheat Em
•Grade: senior
•Number of previous Mr. Blazer competitions: zero
•Where the stuff's at: Singing, Linkin' Park-style, with his posse of seniors Jonathan Mangchinda, Gabriel Palomo and Etienne Hanopole and sophomore Naod Tekeste
•Why he entered: His girlfriend signed him up. (His prize is more than a crown: "I'd want to be Mr. Blazer so I could make my girlfriend happy.")

•Name: Jaron Aikens
•Grade: senior
•Number of previous Mr. Blazer competitions: zero
•Where the stuff's at: Singing and blasting out beats on his guitar
•The forces that pull: "I'm just in it for a little fun. And don't forget the prom tickets."

•Name: Gabriel Palomo
•Grade: senior
•Number of previous Mr. Blazer competitions: none
•Where the stuff's at: thrilling audiences with his guitar, accompanied by his pals senior Etienne Hanopole and sophomore Naod Tekeste
•It was love at first sight: "I went [to the Mr. Blazer competition] last year. ‘I could be up there,' I said to myself."

•Name: Tracy Lin
•Grade: senior
•Number of previous Mr. Blazer competitions: none
•Where the stuff's at: a knock-‘em-dead karate exhibition with the help of juniors Daniel Ku and Stephen Lin
•Talk about girl power: "I'm doing it so that next year more girls will try out. None have before. No school has a ‘Ms.' contest, only Mr. I think girls should be up there too. I want to help us out."

•Name: Tony Tran
•Grade: senior
•Number of previous Mr. Blazer competitions: two (his thoughts: "Last year I placed [well]. This year, you never know. I may be first or second.")
•Where the stuff's at: Singing solo
•Why he deserves to be Mr. Blazer: "It's my last year here. I've got to go out with a bang."

•Name: Terry Cao
•Grade: senior
•Number of previous Mr. Blazer competitions: one
•Where the stuff's at: Breakdancing with his friends seniors David Pham, Cuong Vo and Lan Le, performing in a funny montage of movie scenes
•Motivation for winning the crown: "After I win my friends will take me out to eat at Hooters."

•Name: Jon Leiner
•Grade: senior
•Number of previous Mr. Blazer competitions: one
•Where the stuff's at: Singing and rocking out on his guitar
•His Mr. Blazer-night goal: "I want to shatter the ground upon which other students at Blair stand."

The teachers who will judge the contest are Cindy Villavicencio, Summer Roark, Jacob Lee, John Haigh and Daniel Levine. Tickets sell for $3 each. The Mr. Blazer competition is hosted by the senior class SGA to raise money for prom. Only the first and second place winners are announced. The first place winner receives a couples ticket to prom.