The demands of organizing Johns Hopkins University?s prestigious annual student-run fall speaker series filled much of juniors Steve Farber, Arash Massoudi and Leslie Schoeck non-study time over the past nine months.
After volunteering on last year?s symposium, the three friends submitted a detailed 88-page proposal in December 2005 to the Johns Hopkins Student Council and were chosen to coordinate this year?s edition.
“We all had plans in the summer,” said Farber, program chairman of the 2006 Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium.
“I was looking into an internship in New York City and Leslie was going to go to Germany, but I said if we?re going to do this, we?re going to have to stay in Baltimore.”
Tonight, Harry Belafonte, the renowned singer, actor and activist leads off the series, which showcases a varied and unique group of activists, entertainers, religious leaders, politicians and even supermodels throughout the fall.
Farber, Massoudi and Schoeck had the help of 15 volunteers whose duties included fundraising, budgeting, advertising, graphic design, contractnegotiations and making travel accommodations for the speakers.
The payoff is a top lineup for the symposium, but there is a personal reward, too.
“We get to have dinner with the speakers,” Farber said.
The three students developed the theme for this year?s presentations: “Finding Our Voice: The Role of America?s Youth.”
They stressed a need to reach beyond the usual Hopkins circle and bring in speakers to Baltimore City who could inspire college students and youth beyond the campus.
Traditional circuit speakers, such as consumer activist Ralph Nader and conservative former U.S. Rep. Newt Gingrich, are coming, but so are others who were clearly targeted to a young adult demographic.
They include “Seinfeld” television show co-star Jason Alexander; activist and poet Afeni Shakur, mother of Tupac Shakur; hip-hop artist Immortal Technique and supermodel Petra Nemcova.
“Three years ago, I was living at home in Tallahassee, Fl., and I wasn?t hanging out with anyone like this,” said Massoudi.
“Who would have thought then [that] I?d be having dinner with people like this? It?s an amazing experience.”
39th Annual Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium
Harry Belafonte?s presentation begins at 8 p.m. with doors opening at 7:30 tonight at Shriver Hall at Johns Hopkins University at the Homewood campus at 3400 N. Charles St. in Baltimore. A reception will follow in the Clipper Room.
Other speakers and topics are:
» Sept. 28. “A Greener Tomorrow: Environmental Issues and the Youth,” presented by Ralph Nader, public interest activist and former candidate for U.S. president.
» Oct. 12. “A Partnership of Faith: Spirituality and the Youth,” presented by the Rev. James Forbes at the Interfaith Center.
» Oct. 13. “America?s Youth: The Best of Times, The Worst of Times,” presented by “Seinfeld” co-star Jason Alexander.
» Oct. 18. “Living in the Age of Transformation,” presented by Newt Gingrich, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
» Oct. 26. “Remember Me: The Living Legacy of Tupac Shakur,” presented by activist and poet Afeni Shakur.
» Nov. 2. “Surviving a Disaster and Providing for Children of Lesser Fortune,” presented by supermodel Petra Nemcova.
» Nov. 9. “Bringing Truth in the Form of Hip-Hop,” performed by hip-hop artist Immortal Technique at the Great Hall in Levering.
All events are free and open to the public. For more information, call Arash Massoudi, MSE Symposium publicity chairman, at 850-445-1948 or visit www.jhu.edu/mse.
