Miss America 2015 winner is a daughter of Russian immigrants

[SuperMillionaire]

http://nypost.com/2014/09/15/how-kira-kazantsev-went-from-cronut-blogger-to-miss-america/

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/meet-america-kira-kazantsev-article-1.1939672

Miss America 2015 winner, Kira Kazantsev, is a daughter of Russian immigrants, and represented the state of New York, making it the third time in a row that New York has won the crown, following Nina Davuluri, Miss America 2014, and Mallory Hagan, Miss America 2013. Interestingly, having the first Miss America of Indian descent is followed up with having the first Miss America of Russian descent. She is fluent in Russian, and Spanish, too.

For her talent, she sang "Happy" by Pharrell Williams, while playing percussion with a red plastic cup, in the style of Anna Kendrick's character in the 2012 film Pitch Perfect.

[Jinx]

I'm confused. 2015?

[Freya]

Maybe it's like new cars? Like the 2015 model comes out in 2014?

[Jinx]

Maybe it's like new cars? Like the 2015 model comes out in 2014?

Okay, I totally get what you're saying. But that first sentence got a good chuckle from me. xD

[Agent Proto]

I don't know, but I think this started last year when they awarded Miss America 2014 three months early in Sept '13. I read about this, so I watched her talent video on Youtube. I wasn't impressed at all.

[Shauna]

I declare myself the Miss America winner of 2018!

[Colonel Angus]

I declare myself the Miss America winner of 2018!
That'll be easy once Scotland becomes the 51st state.

[Del Murder]

Maybe her term in office doesn't start until 2015. So we basically get a lame duck Miss America for three months.

[Aulayna]

I'm still not entirely sure what we're supposed to be discussing here.

Is it uncommon for Miss America winners to be of non-American descent?

[NeoCracker]

I'm still not entirely sure what we're supposed to be discussing here.

Is it uncommon for Miss America winners to be of non-American descent?

Unless a native American woman has ever won, I don't think anyone of American decent has won it.

[fire_of_avalon]

That cup thing was the most ridiculous thing I've seen ever.

[Iceglow]

Is this going to be like the presidential elections, are people going to question if she was born in America? If not what's the news story here other than a pretty girl got awarded for being pretty and exhibiting some intelligence? Wait, isn't that misogynistic of us as a species...

[NorthernChaosGod]

Why is her being Russian an issue?

[noxious.sunshine]

Who cares that she's Russian? The bigger issue is that she's under scrutiny for being involved in sorority hazing while holding position as New Member Educator and was ousted from the chapter/organization because she didn't show up to the hearing they had set up to investigate.

She denies the claims, and said it was a joke that had been misconstrued, but things like that are taken extremely seriously in sororities and she should have known better.

As far as her talent... Well. It sucked. Her cup drumming was off beat .

[Shlup]

She's cute, but I find her cup skills unimpressive.

[Shorty]

I believe the pageant winners are crowned for the following year because that's when their "work" takes place. I believe there are a number of duties involved with charitable work and scholarly duties for the scholarship being given, etc, so that probably all takes place the following year in 2015.

And noxy is completely right, the issue with her is the the sorority hazing crap and it sounds like nasty, horrible business.

From Jezebel.com: (http://jezebel.com/miss-america-was-kicked-out-of-her-sorority-for-abusive-1636095561)


A recent graduate who attended Hofstra at the same time as Kazantsev told Jezebel that the final two steps of pledging in one (unnamed) sorority involved making all of the pledges remove their underwear and sit on newspapers while the older members forced them to watch lesbian porn. Anyone whose newspaper stuck to them at the end of the video, the former student said, was branded a dyke, ridiculed, and tossed out. The remaining girls were then forced to perform oral sex on their sorority "big sisters." Other Greeks required pledges to sit in circles around bowls of cat food and other various inedibles. They'd take turns eating and as soon as someone threw up, they had to eat the puke. Another sorority would wrap completely naked pledges in tinfoil, take them to bars, and instruct them to dance until last call. Patrons would pull pieces of foil off, and pledges were considered sexually up for grabs.

Women creating a platform which forces other women to be sexually objectified, molested and possibly raped, and to perform sexual acts. Does not compute.

[DMKA]

Why is her being Russian an issue?
The Cold War never really ended.

[noxious.sunshine]

Sorority hazing is very much monitored and taken extremely seriously nowadays.

Kazantsev says that they opened an investigation over an email she sent out about pledge week while she was New Member Educator and said something about making it really scary for the girls. She claims that it was a joke and that she didn't show up to the hearing because she had so many other things going on and forgot about it.. And of course, was removed from the chapter.

She also says that she went through light hazing (being made to stay up all night doing arts & crafts), & in turn was involved in it because "That's what she went through and that was the culture she came up in".

I call bullshit. Anti-hazing rules/laws have been going into effect nationwide for at -least- 10 years. My sister is still involved with her sorority as the Nashville Alumna Chapter President- formerly New Colony Developer something or other. I've heard her on the phone reminding chapter presidents to be very careful during pledge week to make sure that no hazing happens and that none of their activities can be, in any way, misconstrued as hazing.

IF Kira indeed had done nothing wrong, she would've shown up. Imo, absence is admission of guilt.

AII won't comment on the subject because of their privacy policy regarding their members .. So pretty much we'll never know the truth behind it.