The members of Alpha Xi Delta, a UTEP sorority, are hosting the Xi Man male beauty pageant in an effort to raise money and awareness for people diagnosed with autism.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around one in 68 American children have autism, roughly 10 times higher than the percentage of children with autism 40 years ago. Symptoms of autism are most apparent when children are aged 2 and 3. Research has shown that autism is caused by a combination of gene mutations and environmental factors that influence early brain development in children.

“People are unaware of autism and it’s growing rapidly, so we can raise money and awareness for autism through these events. Raising a child with autism costs about $50,000 a year, so the money we’re raising goes to that,” said Vanessa Daw, sophomore pre-nursing major and Alpha Xi Delta program vice president.

The pageant will be held at 5 Points Bistro, located at 3019 Montana Ave. All money raised by Alpha Xi Delta as well as 20 percent of the restaurant’s profit the day will go to Autism Speaks, which has formed a national partnership with the sorority. There will be a $2 admission fee as well as raffles for rewards such as gift cards from sponsors.

“Alpha Xi Delta introduced me to their philanthropy and that hit home for me because my little cousin—he’s 10—he has autism. I can relate to (the philanthropy),” said Mikayla Rodriguez, freshman cellular and molecular biochemistry major and sorority member. “It makes me happy to be a part of something that brings awareness. (The sorority) means a lot to me, it’s nice to be able to connect with it. It makes me happy to see that people care enough to do that.”

Across the country, Alpha Xi Delta has more than 150,000 initiated members who participate in one of seven competitive events each year in The AmaXIng Challenge, the sorority’s signature fund-raising event in an attempt to help those with autism. This year’s choice is the Xi Man beauty pageant. Other AmaXIng Challenges include Football FrenXi, a flag football tournament, Puzzlepalooza (a team puzzle-solving competition) and Karaoke for the Cure, a karaoke competition.

“I think (the challenges) are great, they bring awareness to people,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve met a lot of really hard-working girls and it’s nice to surround yourself with good-hearted people. I really like the people I met and I’m involving myself more with school and stuff. (These events) share facts, some people don’t know about autism, so it’s good to
spread the word.”

Autism Speaks is an organization that wishes to “change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorders,” as stated on the Autism Speaks website. Founded in 2005 by Bob and Suzanne Wright, the organization uses donations to fund research that aims to find causes, preventions, treatments and ultimately a cure for autism. Autism Speaks also helps to provide for the needs of people with autism and their families.

“Autism Speaks is about finding the missing piece: the cure for autism. (In Puzzlepalooza), we spread awareness by putting pieces around campus, raising money and awareness at the same time,” Daw said.

Joseph Esposito may be reached at [email protected].