Cosmopolitan Magazine will decide Tuesday between a GW freshman and 49 other finalists for their first-ever “Bachelor of the Year” award.
Featured in Cosmopolitan’s “Man Hunt 2006” section in November’s issue, freshman Cory McCrummen represents South Carolina as one of the “hottest, sexiest, single dudes” in the country. The magazine will select the winner from the six finalists who received the most votes online from Oct. 10 through 12 at the publication’s Web site. All 50 men are invited to the party in New York City, where the winner will receive an “ultimate bachelor pad makeover from LG electronics.”
All the men featured in the contest have a lot going for them, said McCrummen, a member of the GW cheer team.
“I have no idea if I will win, but if it works out that I do, I’ll consider it a nice perk,” he said.
After graduating from high school in Johnstown, Ohio, McCrummen spent a year traveling across the country with AmeriCorps, a community service organization. While participating in the program, he was given a South Carolina address in case anyone needed to contact him, which is why he was Mr. South Carolina instead of Mr. Ohio.
“It is not a competition that I ever would have thought about participating in,” he said. “I’m a pretty conservative guy, but after I was selected . I decided I might as well go along with it.”
McCrummen, an international affairs major at the Elliot School, said he has never read Cosmopolitan, and he wasn’t even aware he had been nominated until a magazine official called him.
He said reactions from people both at home and at GW have been mixed. Even though girls recognize him from the contest, McCrummen said, he is not out for popularity or dates.
A Facebook group and an advertisement on the networking site were dedicated to getting McCrummen votes while the online polls were open. Due to the increased publicity, he accepted an impressive 16 friends per day during voting.
“I don’t want to shut anyone out, so I accept everyone,” McCrummen said. “Besides, I’m not always good at remembering people who I meet, so I may have met them sometime.”
Friends describe him as an extremely friendly and amicable person.
“He’s such a gentleman,” said freshman Kimantha Burnett. “He is so outgoing and truly loves life.”
Freshman Rachel Benlisa, a fellow resident of Lafayette Hall, posted information on how to vote for him on her Facebook profile.
“I have it on my profile because I genuinely support Cory in the contest,” she said. “He’s a great person with all the right assets, and the other guys definitely do not deserve it. Cory has done more with his life.”
Cheer teammate Chad Duncan said McCrummen deserves to win the contest.
“He is a very modest guy,” Duncan said. “If you watch some of the video of the other contestants, they seem very full of themselves. But Cory is not like that at all.”
Kathleen Reilly, director of public affairs at the Elliot School, said McCrummen’s record for community service probably contributes to his appeal as Cosmopolitan’s bachelor of the year and recent popularity at GW.
“I think the most important thing to say is that not only are our students smart … they’re also attractive,” Reilly said. “I’m sure he’s very sexy.”
