On Sunday night, Anirban Sahu found himself in a critical situation – or so he thought.
Under the power of hypnosis, he administered CPR to an apple as hundreds of Northwestern students watched.
Sahu, a Weinberg freshman, was a volunteer during professional hypnotist Tom DeLuca’s New Student Week show. Sahu was one of approximately 20 students to be hypnotized on stage during one of DeLuca’s two performances in Cahn Auditorium.
DeLuca has been performing for new students for several years. His shows always draw big crowds. DeLuca performs at colleges across the country and has also appeared as a guest on a variety of television shows, including “Good Morning America.”
For students who volunteer, being part of the hypnotist’s show makes them instantly recognizable to the hundreds of students that attended the performances.
“People look at me funny now,” Sahu said. “I got recognized a lot right after the show.”
While Sahu doesn’t recall what he did while on stage, other participants said they remember everything.
“I remember that I had no inhibitions,” said McCormick freshman Reed Walker.
Walker said he could recollect his actions throughout the show. At one point, believing he was part of a bodybuilding contest, he removed his shirt and flexed his muscles for the audience.
During a different part of the performance, Walker selected a female audience member and brought her on stage for a dance.
Walker said he had fun during the hypnosis and enjoyed the attention.
“Quite a few people have recognized me,” Walker said. “It’s a good conversation starter and ice breaker. It’s helped me meet lots of people.”
Not everyone admits falling under DeLuca’s spell. Participant Lauren Levy said she drew upon her high school improv experience to ad lib when the hypnosis didn’t work.
“I pretty much acted,” the Medill freshman said. “I was too nervous, so Tom DeLuca didn’t really hypnotize me.”
Some volunteers who feel they have not been hypnotized choose to leave the stage and not participate, but this is not always the case. Levy said she stayed on stage because the people in the audience came to see something funny. She said she did not want to disappoint them.
“I wanted to entertain the audience, get a few laughs,” she said.
DeLuca told her to forget that the number six existed, so she skipped the number when she counted her fingers.
Despite her resistance to the hypnosis, Levy said she does not regret being part of the performances.
“It’s all about the power of suggestion,” she added.
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