Andrea Balda is a "self-proclaimed dork who loves
chocolate, the 1980s and all things Harry Potter." This
particular declaration may not have made it to the final
draft of her JHU application essay, but it seemed a fitting
enough introduction as the international studies major
sauntered down the fashion runway last week in front of
several hundred screaming fellow students.
The music thumped, the lights sparkled, and the crowd
whooped and howled well into the night on Wednesday, Dec.
7, as Balda and 34 other Homewood undergraduates vied for
the honor of being Hopkins Top Model.
The event, held in Homewood's Glass Pavilion, pitted
students from sororities, fraternities, sports teams,
service organizations and arts groups against one another
for the top prizes, two $1,050 packages (one for men, one
for women) that included a photo shoot with the John Robert
Powers modeling agency. The winners were Austin Walker,
representing the men's varsity
lacrosse team, and Yasmene
Mumby, a member of the
Black Student Union.
Winners were Austin Walker and
Yasmene Mumby.
PHOTO BY HIPS / WILL KIRK
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The university's own version of the popular TV show
was the brainchild and kick-off event of Vision Xchange, a
new student "movement" that seeks to wed ultra-fun
campuswide activities with a good cause. The Hopkins Top
Model event, for example, helped raise money for the
children affected in the recent earthquake in South Asia,
which killed at least 87,000 people and left more than 3.5
million homeless in northwestern Pakistan and Kashmir. The
more than $4,000 raised in ticket sales and donations
specifically went to UNICEF's South Asia Emergency Relief
Fund.
The movement was initiated by two international
relations majors, senior Shruti Mathur and sophomore Salmah
Y. Rizvi, with a vision of bringing together enthusiastic,
freethinking students to help produce energetic,
large-scale events to raise international awareness and
relief funds. Specifically, the Vision Xchangers want to
shed light on regions and charities that might be
overlooked by media or the public at large.
"By putting together fundraisers inspired by pop
culture and that spark a natural curiosity, we hope to
become champions for causes that are so shockingly in need
of attention and funding but simply lack the appropriate
coverage and awareness," Mathur said.
Judges Jerry Schnydman and Susan
Boswell
PHOTO BY HIPS / WILL KIRK
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By all accounts, the Top Model event was a huge
success. Tickets sold out in the first 10 minutes as more
than 500 people filled the Glass Pavilion. Twenty-nine
different student organizations were represented in a
competition that included two rounds of runway walks and
two rounds of questioning. The final round of questions
came from the six judges--representatives of the John
Robert Powers and LitOn modeling agencies; and Hopkins' own
Susan Boswell, dean of student life; Jerry Schnydman,
executive assistant to the president; and beloved
university security guard Cerlisteen "Mama" Vice. For the
event, the organization was also able to secure more than
$10,000 worth of donated services and items, including a
popular D.C.-area DJ, RZ; Sodexho catering; and the night's
emcee, rapper and TV talent Komplex.
Not bad for an event that was organized and executed
in less than three weeks.
Rizvi said the newly formed organization, whose
members eschew formal titles, is passionate about its
mission, which includes building a sense of community and
activism among Johns Hopkins undergraduates and distancing
the university's social scene from its humdrum
reputation.
"We are willing to look into all sorts of ideas and
activities, no matter how off-the-wall or grandiose," she
said. "And we are a flatline group in that everyone has a
say and there is no messy bureaucracy or politics to deal
with, so anyone or everyone is welcome to join or just
share an idea."
The crowd goes wild for its
favorites.
PHOTO BY HIPS / WILL KIRK
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Upcoming Vision Xchange events include a College Idol
competition in March that the group's leaders said will
feature students from Johns Hopkins and several other area
universities. The prize, they hope, will be singing the
national anthem at a major event like a Baltimore Orioles
game.
In April, Vision Xchange will organize an attempt to
break the The Guinness Book of World Records mark for
simultaneous blind dates, 268 couples. As the kick-off for
Spring Fair, it hopes to gather 1,000 students to
participate in the event, for which all participants would
donate $10 and spend at least one hour with their date.
Proceeds will go to an International Red Cross cause, and
the evening will also feature talks geared toward AIDS
awareness.
Next semester, the group also plans to film the living
histories of the Baltimore area's aging refugee population,
initiate a leadership program for inner city high school
students and host a speaker series featuring international
and citizen leaders who will discuss conflict areas such as
the Sudan, Colombia and Rwanda.
"In the coming year, we hope to lay a foundation and
really make a change by truly unifying the student body via
these events on campus, then execute our credibility to
expand our initiatives domestically and internationally,"
Rizvi said.
Judge Cerlisteen 'Mama'
Vice
PHOTO BY HIPS / WILL KIRK
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The organization's long-term goal is to create a
nonprofit that will spread into a national movement, which
might include the creation of Vision Xchange chapters at
other colleges.
"We are determined to launch a worldwide precedent
where action speeds ahead of age, and establish a
consortium where humanitarian but also business-savvy
leaders are generated and developed and then sent straight
into the field," Mathur said.
If the Top Model event was any indication, Vision
Xchange certainly has a knack for creating a buzz. As Rizvi
said, "It is definitely not your average student bake
sale."
For more information, go to
www.vxchange.org
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