Blind date to break records
JMU teaming up with Johns Hopkins University to make 'Guiness Book of World Records'
By Carly LeDuc, staff writer
Posted on April 6, 2006

On Saturday, April 22, OrangeBand and JMU are joining Johns Hopkins University, Vision XChange and College Alliance to break the world record for the largest blind date ever.

Currently, Nanyang University in Singapore currently holds the record with 268. The event was held last year in July. OrangeBand and John Hopkins hope to break this record with by adding over 800 more participants. All those participating will become world record holders.

“Johns Hopkins University students have a reputation for being very indoors and quiet, always either studying or minding their own business,” said Vision XChange leader Peter Chou.

“The Blind Date event is a huge, creative idea designed to spark school spirit and to bring out the fun in students. The event gives all Hopkins’ students an opportunity to interact and share their interests and beliefs with other students on campus, a watershed in dispelling the image that Hopkins’ students don’t know how to have fun.”

To break the record, the organizations need at least 800 people participating for two hours in a single event. OrangeBand will facilitate discussions during the event. Throughout the day, there will also be fun activities and shows performed by various organizations at Johns Hopkins.

Students at JMU found out about the idea and wanted to get in on the action. OrangeBand students met the organizers for the event at the COOL Idealist National Conference in Nashville the first weekend of March. These students include junior Tyler Burton, JMU OrangeBand president and freshman Becca Ledebuhr.

When classes resumed after Spring Break, freshmen Caitlin Belcher and Dan Moore joined the project team. Then, the four JMU students jumped in to advertise and plan logistics. This involved talking to organizations, advertising on table tents and Facebook, redesigning the OrangeBand Web site and multiple conference calls with Hopkins’ organizers.  According to the OrangeBand Web site, more than 500 students from JHU will attend with 200 from JMU joining them, and hundreds more from the community will participate.

The event costs $10 to attend and OrangeBand will run buses to the event. All proceeds will go to community nonprofits that work directly with AIDS issues in Baltimore and the Shenandoah Valley.

“An estimated $10,000 will be raised between both campuses, not counting donations from outside sponsors and community members,” Chou said.

Belcher said, “Our main goal is more about AIDS awareness than to raise a specific monetary sum.”