"It's such a small school that sometimes someone will see me at a bar or something and want to take a picture with me, and then they'll see me again the next night," Barba said of the 6,000-student school where she began her architecture studies in 2004, before taking a break in the middle of her junior year to give fame a shot."n the past, "American Idol" has dropped contestants for actions unrelated to the show. Frenchie Davis was disqualified in 2003 because of her appearance on an adult Web site — but she bounced back with a role in the Broadway production of "Rent."Barba received notoriety beyond the show when a series of racy photographs surfaced on the Internet prior to the final twelve contestants being chosen. She was quoted as saying that they "were photos of my personal life that got exploited without my consent."And though she's sad that her family — especially her parents — had to see the pictures, Barba said she's trying to use everything that happens to her as a learning experience. Besides, she said, "I think I probably got the worst part out of the way already. What else could happen to me?" These pictures have received mainstream attention including a February 27, 2007 featured article in USA Today, a full segment on the February 26, 2007 edition of FOX News' The O'Reilly Factor, and also on multiple episodes of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann, both of which showed images of the Vote for the Worst pages featuring the images.Not that she didn't have some offers. One of which was for — shocker — a reality show for VH1 that she now admits was "pretty stupid" to turn down. "I'm an idiot," she laughed, her cell phone reception going in and out as she raced back to school on a train, following the first professional gig of her latest nonmusical venture. Barba, 21, has signed up as a celebrity spokesperson for a technology company called Election Law, which recently sent her out to a Republican gathering in San Francisco to help recruit young voters for the upcoming presidential election. "They help candidates use technology in their campaigns, and I'm helping them gather voters," she said.
