Dear Miss Mass: You Survived a Cheetah Attack. You Don’t Need This Pageant Stuff
Miss America! Did you know it was still a thing?
Not only is it still a thing, it’s totally not “sexist’’ because…I don’t know. Scholarships?
But enough of the hate! Miss Massachusetts finished fifth during Sunday’s live broadcast, taking home a $10,000 scholarship.
Though she went to high school in Washington state, Lauren Kuhn is a Harvard Dental School student and fared very well in the competition. She, along with the other finalists, gave a thoughtful response to the tough topical questions asked by judges.
During the question and answer period, Kuhn addressed sexual assault on college campuses.
“We need to talk about this in schools. We need to make this something that’s mandatory for freshman women and men,’’ she said.
For her talent, Kuhn played a short arrangement of “Valse Dramatico’’ on the piano.
If you’re looking for a fun fact, she was once attacked by a cheetah while in Zambia. Though getting away from the cheetah seems like the bigger accomplishment, it’s a legitimately cool story either way you tell it.
Alas, despite the talent, impressive resume, and seriously awesome cheetah story, Kuhn lost out to Miss New York, Kira Kazantsev. Whether the racist viewers who complained about 2014 winner Nina Daviluri will be upset about Kazantsev’s Russian descent is anyone’s guess.
Her talent was a version of the cup dance from the movie “Pitch Perfect,’’ performed to the song “Happy.’’ Hardly cheetah-attack exciting, but we’re sure the judges had their reasons.
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