By Laura Sanicola

To start a frenzy of Spring Weekend entertainer announcements, the Campus Activities Board (CAB) announced via Instagram that Brandon Stanton of Humans of New York will be giving the Thursday lecture on April 23. The lecture precedes main Spring Weekend main events, including a DJ on Friday night, a concert on Saturday afternoon, and a comedic act Sunday evening.

Stanton is a photographer and blogger, most famous for starting a popular photo blog, Humans of New York (HONY), in 2010. Since then, his blog has gained over 12 million followers on Facebook. Brandon takes street portraits of average citizens living in the New York metro area, and includes in the descriptions pieces of conversations that he has with the subjects of the photos. His photos regularly receive hundreds of thousands of likes and shares on Facebook and are known for displaying candid and relatable stories. His 2013 book entitled Humans of New York also became a bestseller.

Stanton is also known for his widely successful fundraising efforts. In January, Stanton raised over $1 million to send middle school students from  a high-poverty Brooklyn school, Mott Hall Bridges Academy, on trips to Harvard University. This effort began after Stanton posted images and conversation snippets of one of the students and the principal of Mott Hall on his blog.

Students across Rose Hill’s campus are buzzing over this year’s choice of lecturer.

“I see all these interesting-looking people on my subway rides every weekend, and Brandon provides a background into their lives so you know a bit about them,”said Domos Fograssi, FCRH ’17. “It really humanizes this big, scary city and makes you feel like your a part of it. It will be incredible to finally see this man that has helped so many people in a variety of different ways…I’m curious to hear what he is like, to hear his story!”

Cat Gallagher, FCRH ’17, agrees. “I think he’s going to give a really interesting, thoughtful talk, and I’m really excited to go,” Gallagher said.

“That’s wonderful!” exclaimed Carolyn Allain, FCRH ’17, upon hearing that he would be the speaker.

Last year, CAB invited Max Joseph, a documentary filmmaker, as the Thursday speaker. Joseph is a co-host of an MTV reality television series about the world of online dating called Catfish.

More information regarding the time and location of the event will be released shortly.

CAB is said to be announcing the rest of the Spring Weekend performers by Monday, April 13.