'Hotties' battle it out at Cav's

They stripped, danced and jiggled at Cavanaugh's Restaurant for only the worthiest of causes --ÿto be dubbed "hottie." Hoping to promote its daytime TV shows, ABC hosted an "Are You a Hottie?" contest at Cav's on Thursday night. Winners -- those who received the loudest cheers when announced at the bar -- were to be entered in a national sweepstakes to win a trip for four to Disney World during ABC's Super Soap Weekend. And for a free trip to the Magic Kingdom, the contestants let it all hang out. Fortunately for those who weren't "hotties," the contest was still open to anyone and everyone, with no prerequisites. Bar patrons, few of whom were Penn undergraduates, filled out information sheets to enter the raffle, and each had a picture taken in order to qualify as good-looking enough to be a "hottie." About 12 women and 12 men entered themselves in the competition. They said their names into a microphone, paraded around the bar and then were judged based on the applause -- or hoots and hollers -- they received. "All I had to do was take off my shirt," said School of Arts and Sciences graduate student Dave Reed, who proceeded to win the male portion of the event after the finalists were asked to "turn around and bend over." Reed and female winner Lydia Jones will be entered in the nationwide sweepstakes to win the Orlando trip. Four young ABC employees hosted the event, giving out free soap opera star trading cards and marking contestants with fake tattoos. Because the contest was not widely publicized around Penn's campus, very few bargoers seemed interested in the event at first. Most admitted they had no prior knowledge of it. As a larger crowd gathered and more drinks were bought, some began imagining what they would do if they won the vacation. "I would run around topless all day and show my Ohottie' tattoo that I got here" said Teresa Kelly, an employee at Penn's Veterinary Hospital. Many of the contestants really let loose during the contest. The women were particularly daring, showing thongs and bras, dancing on chairs and declaring "69" to be a favorite number. One woman who stripped down to her bra was reminded that this promotion was for "daytime" TV. The men were so reserved in comparison that many on-looking women appeared frustrated. "Somebody shake your ass," one woman yelled over the deejay's music. A few men did pull their pants down, but the crowd reacted somewhat critically. "Oh my God," ABC promoter Jordana Astrologo said. "He tucks his shirt in his boxers." Even though the crowd was roaring with laughter from the show, some did question its decency. College sophomore Rebecca Zubaty said she thought the contest was "an awful display of flesh." The event, although advertised as a "college party," only attracted a handful of Penn undergraduates. Whether the promotion would do anything to attract more viewers to a television genre that has lost huge parts of its audience in the past decade seemed unlikely to many who watched the contest. "It's a neat idea that they're trying, but how many people can sit around and watch daytime TV?" asked third-year Veterinary student Kevin Smith.