By Brian L Brink

On Nov. 30, Alpha Xi Delta raised about $70 for Autism Speaks at it’s Xi Man competition that took place at Thiel College.

Ashley Seems, a senior psychology major, ran the event this year. The four contestants were Brandon Forester, a junior biology major; Gabriel Dinger, a junior cytotechnology major; Elijah Sklack, a sophomore political science and business major; and Matt Hess, a bio-chem and pre-med major.

Hess won the competition for the dance number he put on to Chris Brown’s “Privacy” during the talent portion. The runner-up, Dinger, sang “Story of My Life” by One Direction during the same portion.

The other portions of the competition were the money dash, questions, and Autism Speaks trivia.

The Autism Speaks trivia portion revealed answers to questions about autism. Males are five times more likely to develop autism than females are. Also, it takes an average of $60,000 a year to raise a child with autism.

The money dash was at the beginning and the contestants had to run around collecting money. During the questions round the master of ceremonies asked random questions to each contestant.

When asked what three things he would bring to a deserted island, Sklack answered, “one soft serve ice-cream cone. A second soft serve ice-cream cone. And a third soft serve ice-cream cone.”

Alpha Xi Delta has raised over $7 million for Autism Speaks over the course of five years and all its chapters.

Melissa Pugliano, a senior accounting business administration major and president of Alpha Xi Delta, said that AXD will be hosting another fundraiser in the spring. That one will “most likely be a volleyball tournament,” she said.