The History of the Miss Silliman pageant: Celebrating 75 years of Miss Silliman

MISS SILLIMAN PAGEANT
The PIONEERING YEAR: 1946
#CelebratingtheDIAMONDyearofMissSILLIMANpageant1946to2021

The MISS SILLIMAN UNIVERSITY beauty pageant, which started in 1946, is the oldest still-running annual event for women in this part of the world. It is older than Miss World which is the oldest running international beauty pageant created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951, and much older than the current Miss Universe pageant, which was founded in 1952 by Pacific Knitting Mills, a California-based clothing company and manufacturer of Catalina Swimwear.

The world was still healing from the ravages of World War II in 1946 when the first meeting of the United Nations was held in London. The Philippines’ war hero, General Douglas MacArthur, was in Tokyo to establish the International Military Tribunal for the Far East to try the Japanese war criminals.

Silliman University had endured the massive destruction brought by the violent exchanges between the Japanese military forces, which occupied the entire campus, the joint forces of the Negros-based American infantry and the Filipino soldiers with revolutionaries from the underground movement.  Many felt the depression. Many students needed support as they faced the mounting challenges of rebuilding not just the physical landscape of their beloved school but also their own lives.  Their mentors encouraged student leaders to respond to the situation without bitterness but transform their felt pain into creative forces.

In addition to the fellowship within Christian organizations, leaders of other avenues like the school paper and the dormitory went beyond their usual responsibilities to bring out an entertainment dimension for the wholeness of student life to be a source of true inspiration.

At the men’s dormitory, Guy Hall, two students were elected coordinators of the Recreational Committee: Virgilio Atega and Hernando Diamante, and they collaborated with the director of Physical Education, Mr. Jose Ravello, when they organized the Amateur Hour contest, aimed at uncovering talents, at Silliman Hall. The student leaders behind the Sillimanian, the school publication – editor-in-chief Ricaredo Demetillo and associate editor Henry Nicolas had collaborated with the dormitory’s Recreational Committee to give birth to a campus beauty search through a popularity contest. Law students Henry Nicolas and Virgilio Atega became the prime movers of this beauty search.

 
Henry Nicolas and Virgilio Atega, founders of the Miss Silliman pageant

The Sillimanian staff came to be known as “beauty editors” as the contest gained popularity which made them strain their necks to be on the lookout for the campus beauties worthy of the Miss Silliman nomination. Nominations came from the Campus organizations. Aside from their beautiful presence on campus, a grade requirement was considered for a nomination: “Every duly registered woman student of either the High School or College Department of this University between the ages of 16 and 25, single and of average scholastic standing, is eligible for being voted upon in this contest….” At the end of February, students went to Silliman Cafeteria to cast their vote. Four of the loveliest residents in Oriental Hall were among the popular candidates.  Solona Torralba, a vocal soloist, featured in many campus events, was considered the frontrunner in this search for the “Most Popular COED.”

During the colorful Folk Dance Festival presented by the Department of Physical Education and Athletics, the winners of The Sillimanian’s Popularity Contest were presented on Saturday evening, March 1, 1946, at The Assembly Hall. Patria Obsequio, top Junior student from Home Economics with a Q.P.A of 4.82, College of Business Administration student Zonsayda Cueva with a QPA of 3.40 and Evelyn Gentelizo of the College of Education with a Q.P.A. of 3.11 were the Top 3 winners. Out of the 1,084 students who voted, Patria obtained 30.70 % popularity with 333 votes.

Members of the Alpha Sigma Chi were in jubilation with the victory of their fraternity sweetheart. Many of her votes came from her fraternity and sorority brothers and sisters, the Oriental Hallers, and from the high school students.  She received the Miss Silliman sash from Henry Nicolas with a bouquet, but there was no crown.  Virgilio Atega presented her with free admission movie tickets as her prize donated by Park Theater. Everyone loved the new campus queen, as she was described to be regal and simply beautiful.

In second place with 251 votes was the vivacious and petite Zony Cueva. The Sillimanian noted that students from Law and Engineering stood behind this popular lady with a strong sex appeal while waiting for their turn to vote.  She was awarded the “Campus Cover Girl” sash and free movie tickets donated by Town Theater.

In third place was Evelyn Gentilezo of the College of Education, with 149 votes. She was awarded the “Campus Headline Girl” sash and the movie tickets donated by Lux Theater. Evelyn, the girl with an angelic face, had solid support from the upperclassmen of the College of Engineering. The talented Miss Torralba placed fourth with 98 votes, and the combined votes of the other nominees who did not win totaled 253 with a 23. 37% share of the student population who voted.

Properly acknowledged were the staff of The Sillimanian who managed the actual canvassing of votes as supervised by Miss Mary K. Strathearn.

There was so much hope for the Miss Silliman pageant to become a tradition as the men behind the working team enjoyed much greater influence after the popularity contest: Henry Nicolas continued as Associate Editor of The Sillimanian, and Virgilio Atega was elected the very first president of the Silliman University Student Government.  Both also ended the school year as the first placers in the honor roll at the College of Law: Henry was awarded First Honor in the Junior Class with a QPA of 4.27 and Virgilio was First Honor in the Sophomore Class with a QPA of 3.42.  Their queen, Patria Obsequio, ended the school year as First Honor in the academic performance among Home Economics students and finished her degree obtaining a Latin honor of magna cum laude.

This was the beauty of Silliman campus life as students were loaded with added responsibilities at a very challenging time: when shadows of the just-ended global crisis were still evidently affecting them but inspired them to achieve greater heights – within and beyond this campus by the sea.

Reference: The Sillimanian, 1946-1947

(story by Moses Joshua B. Atega)