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The GW Hatchet

AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904

The GW Hatchet

Serving the GW Community since 1904

The GW Hatchet

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Officials name senior vice president, chief of staff
By Fiona Riley, Assistant News Editor • March 26, 2024

Women compete for ‘Ugly’ position

Wearing a pink miniskirt and high heels, GW junior Becca Greenberg gyrated in front of hundreds of people Wednesday night, competing against 75 other women to become a Coyote Ugly bartender.

“I have a low-paying job, and this will get me a little bit more money – everyone knows how expensive GW is to go to,” Greenberg said. “I love the concept of Coyote Ugly; it’s about chicks being in power, and to me that is awesome. Everybody wants me, and no one can have me.”

Judges chose 30 women to be bartenders at the new Coyote Ugly Saloon, located at 717 6th St. The bar will open Feb. 13.

At least three GW students participated in the event, held at the MCI Center’s F Street Sports Bar & Grill.

Dancing to songs including Jimi Hendrix’s “Foxy Lady,” the women performed choreographed and freestyle dances to impress a panel of judges composed of 10 men and one woman.

“You’ve got to be outgoing. The chicks have to be strutting their stuff out there,” said judge Gary Clark, a former Washington Redskins receiver. Other judges included WHFS FM 99.1 radio announcers and a FOX5 meteorologist.

The competition featured a bartending audition in which the girls made various drinks, a dancing performance and a crowd popularity contest.

“We’re looking for women with attitude,” said J.P. Plane, a 99.1 HFS radio personality. “Coyote is all about hot chicks dancing on top of bars, serving drinks and making guys think that they have a chance when they really don’t.”

Jackie Little, a former Washington Freedom soccer player and the sole female judge, said her presence on the panel made the competition more than just a beauty contest.

“I think I add a little bit of a different perspective than the other judges,” Little said. “I think it has a lot more to do with attitude than the looks.

“Like, this one girl wasn’t the prettiest one, but she had the attitude, and while some of the other guys didn’t give her a high score, I did because she’s a good dancer and had the attitude we’re looking for,” she added.

Following the success of the 2000 film “Coyote Ugly,” the bars have been sprouting up in major cities across the nation. The chain is famous for its all-female bartending staffs, which perform dance routines for patrons as they mix drinks.

After almost two hours of dancing and screaming, judges chose three women to be bartenders. They also picked 27 other women who will be given jobs at the bar but did not announce their names Wednesday night.

Greenberg, who was not one of the three women who won the competition, expressed hope that she would win a spot behind the bar.

“I feel amazing about myself,” she said. ” I think D.C. needs more fun places like Coyote – there is nothing even close to this in D.C.”

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