Beauty School prides itself on providing an atmosphere conducive to serious scholarship, competition, and most importantly, a sense of fun.

To that end, we recently held our first Winter Carnival on campus. Competitions abounded as students competed in various winter activities all leading up to the crowning of Miss and Mr. BS Winter Carnival 2000.

As was expected, our students took each competition very seriously, and while the contest for Best National Costume for a fictitious Miss North Pole was enormously popular, it was the Ice Sculpture competition that garnered the most interest.

There were magnificent creations all around campus - from a glorious lifelike representation of Kelly Hu in military mufti to a staggering depiction of Sushmita Sen and Aishwarya Rai fighting over the Miss India crown.

The sculptures ranged from the obvious to the subtle to the erudite. Taking the prize in the most erudite category were six students co-authoring a thesis entitled "The Pinnacle of the Universe: The Miami Beach Years." Their lovingly carved sneezing llama had almost everyone on campus wondering if they had inhaled too much Alberto VO5 as part of their studies!

Our "Miami Beach" students were steadfast in their defense of their choice of sculpture and simply replied, when asked about the llama, "Miss USA 1968."

Fearing a run on the library to check out a copy of the tape of that pageant, the Dean of BS decided to screen the pageant for the entire student body in the Helen O'Connell Auditorium.

At 8:00 p.m., we were transported back to the Miami Beach Auditorium of 1968 and by evening's end everyone knew the significance of the llama.

The key was the farewell speech of Miss USA 1967, the ascended Cheryl Ann Patton. Here for the first time we present one of our favorite farewell speeches of all time and a marked contrast to what would follow in later years, especially 1970.

"As Miss USA, I thought that all I'd be doing this year is smiling, shaking hands and smiling some more. But as I traveled, I realized being Miss USA is so much more than that. For instance, did you ever see a LLAMA SNEEZE? I did in Lima, Peru, and it was only the beginning.

"I counted raindrops in Waikiki, and I think I learned how to use chopsticks in Chinatown.

"I slept in a real log cabin in West Virginia. I went to the top of the Space Needle in Seattle, Washington, and the top of the Gateway Arch to the West in St. Louis, Missouri.

"I saw the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia and I saw snow for the first time in Denver, Colorado.

"The people in Phoenix gave me a roadrunner, and at last I got to see Disneyland.

"I visited many hospitals this past year. But in one hospital, I met a Green Beret and he said 'Would you sign my cap?,' and I said sure, and while I was signing, he said 'Just as soon as I get well again, I'll get up and I'll go right back over there, but I'm gonna be so proud to wear my cap with your name written inside.'

"Well, my wonderful year has come to a close. I wouldn't change a minute of it. Especially now when all I have left to say is thank you and goodbye."

Our thanks goes out to the students of the "Miami Beach Years" for bringing this wonderful speech to our attention. And thank you, Cheryl Ann, for bringing a smile to our faces and being such a wonderful Miss USA.