NIU is about to become “fierce.”

Tryouts for Northern’s Next Top Model are being held tonight in Neptune Central at 8:30 p.m. The event is being sponsored by the Residence Hall Association. The competition is open to any NIU female. The top three will compete in a fashion show on Apr. 25.

Besides being a modeling/fashion competition, the event is being held to promote environmental awareness on campus. The event’s slogan, “Going green has never been so fierce,” says it all.

The “top model” will receive valuable exposure.

“The winner will appear on the cover of Housing & Dining’s largest publication, which reaches 20,000 prospective students,” said Joshua Johnson, assistant director of marketing and public relations for housing and dining. The winner will also receive a gift basket, which will include Avon products, among other items.

More than anything else, girls will be judged on their confidence. Jessica Cordero, programming vice president of the Residence Hall Association, said self-confidence is another issue the RHA wants to promote.

“We want people to be more comfortable with who they are,” she said.

All girls who enter the competition will fill out a questionnaire that will include questions pertaining to their self-confidence and NIU’s environmental consciousness. Judges will pick the top 10 girls based on their responses.

The top 10 girls will then partake in a photo shoot. Judges will choose the five best photos.

The remaining five girls will each make a “NIU Tube” video about “going green.” The girls with the best three videos, as selected by the judges, will then compete in the fashion show on April 25.

“We just want it to be a huge turnout,” said Ashley Schulter, programming vice president of Neptune Hall Council. “We want it to be one of the biggest turnouts in RHA history.”

“Top model” contestants will also be able to show off their fashion design skills. One such contest will center on the design of an environmentally-conscious outfit.

The idea for tonight’s event originally came from Johnson, who joked that the RHA should hold a “Northern’s Next Top Model” competition, but Schulter and Cordero took it seriously, Schulter said.

“We are absolutely obsessed with America’s Next Top Model,” Cordero said.

The winner will receive great prizes and exposure, but most important is the awareness the event will create, Johnson said.

“Northern’s Next Top Model will also make students aware of issues affecting all of us, such as being environmentally resourceful, healthy eating and body image,” he said.

The judges will include Johnson, Cordero and other NIU staff members, but the RHA is saving a seat at the judges’ table for one more.

“We e-mailed Tyra and have yet to hear back from her,” Schulter said.