Of late, Whitney Seibel ’06 has been bombarded with friend requests on thefacebook.com.

“One guy even asked me to marry him,” she said.

Attention in the form of online befriending and marriage proposals came as a result of her gracing the pages of Maxim Magazine’s November issue. In a feature called “Maxim Goes to College,” Seibel, along with five other students hailing from the likes of Florida State University and Alabama’s Jefferson State Community College, appeared in the magazine’s four-page spread.

“The idea was to canvass colleges from across the nation, looking for a range of girls to appeal to our readership,” said Laura Gilbert, the Maxim reporter who profiled the students. “We looked at community colleges, Ivy Leagues, state schools — all of them.”

Standing tall at 5 feet 11 inches, Seibel has been a model “on and off” for 15 years, having previously appeared in such publications as German Mademoiselle and Big Dog Motorcycles. Still, it was through Yale’s tabloid Rumpus that the Trumbull College junior got her break. Maxim tapped Seibel for the article after seeing her featured in Rumpus’ 50 Most Beautiful. She was the only student from Yale to participate in the shoot.

“My initial reaction was to ask my mom’s opinion,” Seibel said. “But really I didn’t see how I could turn it down. I definitely thought about it; I didn’t want to have negative repercussions.”

In an all-day shoot lasting from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Seibel collaborated with industry professionals including Britney Spears’ hairstylist. Though the magazine had already decided to shoot her in a makeshift dorm room, Seibel said Maxim welcomed her input.

“I brought my Yale shirt which they let me wear cut up,” said Seibel, who sports a purple Yale tank in her photo. “Some of the production crew asked if I really went there. It was weird because it was the first week of shopping period, so I also had a course book with me.”

Boyfriend Eddie Higgins ’06, who had not known about the shoot, received a pleasant surprise when Seibel delivered him the issue.

“It was planned to be a surprise,” Higgins said. “When she went to shoot; she was on an a cappella retreat, so I didn’t even know about it. When she brought the magazine for me, I was browsing it — and, yeah, it was a huge surprise.”

Hailing from McPherson, Kan., Seibel was a semifinalist in the Miss Kansas beauty competition during her teenage years. At Yale, she sings alto for the a cappella group The New Blue and is a psychology major.

Higgins said he wholeheartedly supported her endeavors, adding that he finds it “awesome” to be dating a Maxim model.

In addition to her layout photos, Seibel shared her sex secrets (“I’m still a virgin”), advice for men (“Watch the tongue”) and choice of underwear (“Boy-cut”). Though she said it was strange to have a 30-minute interview condensed down to a few lines, Higgins said Seibel still came across as herself.

“Compared to the other girls who exposed nasty sexual habits, she came across as, you know, ‘daddy’s girl,’ which some would believe she is,” he said. “She’s not really a daddy’s girl.”

Despite the fact that she appeared in a national publication, Seibel keeps a relaxed attitude on campus.

“It’s weird thinking about 13-year-olds looking at pictures,” Seibel said. “But I’m past being self-conscious about it. It was weird when I thought about my boyfriend’s parents seeing it, but, you know, it was a lot of fun.”

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