Big Red Moon Club, Cornell’s largest queer organization, is famous for its spunky, sometimes controversial events. Notably, this semester, the group hosted the infamous “Is Pegging Gay?” debate and Bisexual Pop the Balloon live dating show. In festive spirit, Moon Club hosted the Battle of the Gingers on March 16, a St. Patrick’s Day-themed competition. The event was a lookalike contest calling for students to bring their best impersonations of Ed Sheeran, Chappell Roan and Cornell’s very own Jordy at Corny.
Surya Nawiana ’26 and Jordan Sang ’28 (Jordy at Corny) co-hosted the event, warmly welcoming in students. The auditorium, Uris Hall G01, was largely empty, but with their enthusiasm, the show went on. Sang commented on the festive spirit, “We thought it would be really fun to bring together the ginger community in honor of the holiday.”
The first event of the night was the Jordy at Corny lookalike contest. It wasn’t much of a competition, considering the only candidate was Aleksandra Rombakh ’29. With a borrowed Longchamp bag and Jordy at Corny’s quintessential Stanley water bottle, she gave her best impression, using Jordy’s iconic line when asked where she was: “Physically? Cornell. Mentally? Bama.” Although the contest was off to a slow start, Rombakh still gave the audience a laugh, setting the joyful atmosphere.
Sang laughed with his lookalike, taking the time to advertise his upcoming lifestyle branch, Jammies by Jordy. He expressed thanks for everybody’s support, saying, “Seeing [my TikTok] transform into something tangible has been really meaningful. … I’m really excited to see where this goes.”
Next up was the Ed Sheeran lookalike contest; similarly to the previous event, only one student came down to the stage. Julia Keeton ’26 appeared with a guitar and British accent, ready to perform. She sang a brief song for the audience, which was definitely my favorite part of the Battle of the Gingers. When asked what her motivation for attending the lookalike contest was, Keeton responded, “I just really love doing a British accent, and I thought this was a good opportunity.”
The final contest of the night was the Chappell Roan lookalike competition. This time, there were two competitors, though only one was ginger. The winner, Saya Taylor ’29, elicited cheers from the room with her passionate impression of Chappell Roan confronting paparazzi. With her dyed-orange hair and funny performance, Taylor was undeniably my favorite contestant in the Battle of the Gingers. “I dyed my hair for St. Patrick’s Day — not specifically for this event, but for March,” Taylor shared. She added, “My life motto is, ‘Say yes to anything.’”
The most remarkable part of the event was its unique take on lookalike contests. Typical lookalike contests revolve around celebrities in order to draw in large crowds and attention. Though the Battle of the Gingers did this by featuring Ed Sheeran and Chappell Roan, it also focused on a more local microcelebrity: Jordy at Corny. Nawiana remarked, “Jordy at Corny is fun because he is a local campus celebrity, so bringing that to a lookalike contest is something that hasn’t been done before.” In response to this, Sang added, “We’re excited to be the first to do it.”
The event was short but sweet, carrying the joy of other Moon Club events regardless of the lacking attendance. Despite the silly energy of their events, Moon Club carries a much larger significance on campus. Being the largest queer organization at Cornell, Moon Club’s fun events create a safe, homey space for Cornellians. Nawiana stated that they provide “a space and forum for queer individuals and other marginalized people at Cornell.” And, he continued, “Because we’re not a registered student organization, we have a lot of flexibility with what we can do.” Certainly, the scope of Moon Club’s past events has shown that — pegging debates and bisexual dating shows, namely.
If you’re looking for a welcoming, fun time, be sure to check out next month’s Moon Club event, the Queer Fight (or Kiss) Club, jointly hosted with Cornell Women’s Wrestling and Perfect Match.
Katherine Winton is a member of the Class of 2029 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a staff writer for the Arts & Culture department and can be reached at kwinton@cornellsun.com.
