Current Release: April 28th, 2009 | Vol. XXX Iss. 10

Photo by Jaci Downey

"Real World" TV stars gives students the "real" on life

By Julie Southard

On October 11, two "Real World" cast members made an appearance here at Virginia Wesleyan. Members Landon Lueck from "Real World: Philadelphia" and Cameron Eubanks from "Real World: San Diego" spoke about life after "The Real World" and everyday issues that we face today as college students.

The event, sponsored by the Wesleyan Activity Council had about 50 students show up to gaze over the two celebrities made famous by one of the most watched reality TV shows of all times.

Lueck, a 24 year old native from Wisconsin and an all star high school athlete in both tennis and wrestling discussed the dangers of consuming too much alcohol.

"The main thing that I would like to talk about is alcohol," said Lueck with a grin. "Like maybe the ‘knife scene,’ I do not know who saw that but that showed a struggle with my alcohol control."

Lueck hit home for a lot of people as he spoke about any troubles that he had in the show and how they usually always related to alcohol. During Real World: Philadelphia he experienced a friend come home at 5:30 in the morning crying.

"I had no idea what was wrong with her," said Lueck. "She was hysterical and ran to the bathroom and locked the door. I finally got it out of her. She was raped. This really made an impact and it goes to show that a night of alcohol is not always a good time."

Lueck admitted to his anger issues, especially when mixed with alcohol. He was open to any questions from the crowd and had a great sense of humor.

Eubanks, a 21-year-old from South Carolina who has never traveled anywhere beyond Florida before the show, sported a big smile and a southern accent.

"I was extremely sheltered before the show," she said. "I never met a gay person before. In my high school, blacks literally sat on one side of the cafeteria and whites on the other."

She has grown dramatically from her experience and looks at life as learning through other people, no matter how different they are:

"My point is,” she said. “In these four years or whatever for God sakes number of years college takes today, use these years to meet new people."