By: Sandile Zikhali

There was a huge turnout as the Durban University of Technology’s Student Housing unit hosted the Mr and Miss DUT Fresher auditions on Monday (7 April) afternoon.

The event was held at Mansfield Hall and is organised for first year students at the university to showcase their modelling talent and possibly open up doors into the modelling world.
Minenhle Cele, a first year student who came out to support a friend taking part in the auditions, described the event as “amazing and epic”.

“I came here to see the hot guys, and be entertained. I’m happy about the event and I’m happy that my friend made it through to the last 24. I can’t wait for the actual event and I’m sure it will be over the roof,” said Cele.

Fundiswa Khoza, one of the event organisers and Miss DUT Fresher 2013, said that the event was more than what she expected.

“When you are planning events like these, the crowd capacity and participation are always the challenges you going to face. I’m happy about the participation, students came out in numbers which means there will be even more people at the actual event which is going to take place on 09 May 2014,” stated Khoza.

Phila Nzimande, also known as Flox, is a fashion designer and was one of the judges for the day. He said that choosing people to go through to the next round is one of the hardest tasks to do. “You would find the crowd screaming for someone who lacks the quality that we are looking for. Confidence, body structure, the walk and the smile is important. It can make or break you,” clarified Nzimande.

Mass participation intensified the competition. Lindiwe Nkosi, one of the last 24 who went through to the next round, said that she was more than happy to go through.

“As I am short, it is very challenging for me but the crowd seemed to love me and that boosted my confidence.  I am going to work on my smile and walk. At first I was nervous but I am going to be more than ready for the event next month,” insisted Nkosi