While most college students are regurgitating alcoholic beverages over the weekend, Steve Starr regurgitates objects, from casino coins to live goldfish, for a living. Starr, 38, has made regurgitation an art form, and he came to VWC on Saturday, February 26 to perform his act before a packed dining hall. Wearing black pants and a sparkly vanilla-colored jacket revealing his bare chest, Starr performed his usual tricks. He started with a light bulb. He pounded his chest, and swallowed the bulb. To disgorge the light bulb, he pounded his chest again, and out came the bulb.

Throughout his performance Starr called members of the audience on stage to help him with his tricks. After calling senior Mike Dailey on stage, Starr regurgitated several casino coins. "Could you imagine me going through customs?" Starr joked with the audience. He then drank lemon liquid soap to blow bubbles out of his mouth, and to regurgitate the coins. He admitted to "showing off" when he held a big bubble from his mouth between his hands before swallowing more soap.

"I bet you’ve swallowed worse than that," he jokingly said to senior Jane Canavan. After swallowing butane lighter gas, he lit a cigarette and asked the audience if it wanted to see more money regurgitated or smoke regurgitated. Smoke was the dominate response. "I can make smoke come out of my ass. Do you want it to come out straight, or in large rings or in small rings?" asked Starr as he turned around to blow cigarette smoke from his buttocks. After pretending to release smoke, he immediately faced the audience. "Can you believe you are watching my ass?" asked Starr to a laughing audience.

Among regurgitating coins and swallowing lemon soap, he regurgitated an orange pool ball. "I didn’t know the trachea is big enough to fit a pool ball," said Cortemeglia. "I am so amazed how he does it, and how he learned to do it." Born and raised in Scotland, Starr lived in children’s homes for 19 years. He started swallowing things by accident when he was a young child. "When I was four years old, I swallowed my pocket money to hide it from the other kids," said Starr. "After that I would swallow stupid stuff, like my teacher’s chalk." Billed as only person in the world who can successfully regurgitate, he has been on David Letterman, Maury Povich, Howard Stern and Regis and Kathie Lee, among others. Starr holds a Guinness Book of Records for swallowing a bumble bee, separating it from water, and regurgitating it. He also holds a world record for swallowing ten half-dollars and regurgitating them in the order called for.

"It is simply memorization, and I use my stomach muscles to control which ones come up," said Starr. However, not everybody believes his act. "I don’t believe he actually swallows the objects," said freshmen Mary Jo Perez-Lopez. "There has to be some kind of trick. He must hold the objects in his esophagus." According to Starr, "Everything is pretty easy, except the Rubic’s cube. That is the only thing that hurts, even though it is easier to swallow bigger objects because they are heavier and I have more control of them."

He does 300 shows a year. In the middle of the act, Starr called ten young women on stage to swallow their rings. He swallowed all ten rings and regurgitated them. Starr told the audience that the owner of the last ring would have to swallow a goldfish. Christy Kincade, a senior, was one of the last two women on stage. She was relieved when Starr coughed up her ring, but a scared Kristy Reed ran off stage. After reassuring the audience that no one would swallow a fish, Starr regurgitated a Rubic’s cube, a small balloon and a nail, preparing to swallow a goldfish. Starr mixed water and sugar, and standing on a chair, he regurgitated the sugar. He swallowed another ring, along with a lock and a key. He regurgitated the key, followed by the ring on the lock. Starr concluded his act by drinking the goldfish’s water first, followed by the goldfish itself. He proceeded with two more goldfish. He regurgitated the first two alive, but he tried to kill the third by bending over and punching his stomach.

"I was so scared he was going to kill the goldfish," said freshman Kevin Meagher. "It was extremely disgusting, but thoroughly entertaining," said Cortemeglia. Not all students were entertained. Senior Amy Greene said sarcastically, "I would have been impressed if he had swallowed a piano."

A match made in heaven?

By SHARON BALABANIS

"I'd be ice cream because I like to be licked" was one of the many surprising answers given by junior Shannon Banks, as well as the other panelists in the Phi Sigma Sigma Annual Dating Game held Friday, February 11. Dating Game, sponsored by Phi Sigma Sigma is an annual event that raises funding for several institutions. The National Kidney Foundation, The Phi Sigma Sigma Foundation as well as AIDS Awareness benefited from this year's event. The money was raised this year from the sale of raffle tickets at the door. Prizes were collected from area businesses including Blockbuster Video, Hollywood Video, Party City and Cinema Cafe. In addition to money being raised for good causes, the audience enjoyed the antics of the panels as well as the pairs that resulted from each round.

The first round resulted in sophomore Nate Brooks with Banks. Other rounds paired up sophomore Emily McLaughlin with senior Rob Gillikin, and sophomore Matt Lantaine with freshman Michelle Littman. Emceed by Ryan Ego, the panelists were given a slew of humorous questions and some actions to perform. In a round conducted by Lantaine, the girls, Kia Washington, Michelle Littman and Sandra Williams were asked to dance to their favorite club music, eat bananas, and demonstrate their lap-dancing abilities on Ryan Ego. Other rounds included questions like "If you had to give Dr. Ruth one piece of sexual advice what would it be?"

To which the response given by freshman Clay Rushing was "Once you get going . . . don't stop." Also questions like "If you were a food what would you be and why?" asked by Brooks, which produced the interesting answer from Banks about ice cream. All of these amusing questions, answers and performances given by the panelists as well as Ego made this year's dating game a very successful event.

Freshmen experience student leadership

By REBECCA DESJARDINS

Freshmen were urged to make a difference last Thursday at the Fourth Annual Student Leadership Institute dinner. The institute is promoting leadership among students to assist faculty in improving life at Virginia Wesleyan. Approximately 73 students attended the informational dinner in Boyd dining center, where they were encouraged by the words of President William Greer, Dean David Buckingham, and Dr. Doug A.Kennedy, professor of recreation and leisure studies. Students invited to participate in the institute consisted of freshmen recommended by "someone who saw potential for leadership."

Speakers emphasized the importance of leaders in our society. Greer illustrated this focus with a trio of leaders who had to overcome diversity before reaching success. He spoke of Leontyne Price, a famous opera singer who struggled as a black person growing up in Mississippi; Jim Abbot, a professional baseball player who had only one good arm; and Yehudi Menuhin, a musician who performed for wounded soldiers even though his piano was out of tune. "It is in tough situations that you really find out what kind of leader you can be," said Greer.

Students were also reminded to take advantage of a small school setting. "How many students have dinner with the president, deans, and faculty?" asked Kennedy. Kennedy recalled a situation at the University of Delaware when he and a friend tried to suggest improvements for dining hours. He said that he remembered feeling like a number, like he was unimportant. The Student Leadership Institute 2000 is encouraging students to question existing problems at VWC. Students also have the opportunity to work with staff and administrators to develop improvements for the college. The institute will be conducted in four groups concerning the areas of academics, campus environment, campus programming, and residence life.

Freshman Dave Shippy, a commuter, said, "I would be interested in evaluating areas around campus for environmental issues and making plans to improve them." Students in the institute will work with teams of administrators and staff, including: Buckingham, Dr. Joyce Howell, associate professor of art; Keith Moore, assistant director of Residence Life; Dr. Sally Shedd, assistant professor of theater; Philip Guilfoyle, assistant professor of art; Lina Cottingham, director of Residence Life, and Kennedy. The groups will meet many times throughout the semester to discuss developments in the four areas. Toward the end of the semester, each group will make a presentation to the institute about its respective area.

In addition to faculty, seniors Thomas Taylor and Katie Wick will be presenting workshops on leadership and motivation. Wick, who participated in the first leadership institute four years ago, says she remembers the experience to be beneficial. "I learned about the different opportunities to be involved at Virginia Wesleyan," said Wick. Wick also recalls learning more about faculty and staff responsibilities, and being reminded that there are kinds of leaders. The Student Leadership Institute will show students how to be better leaders and how to work with others to make a difference. It is the hope of the institute that together, students and staff will achieve what one person cannot achieve alone. As Greer stated, "You are not a leader in isolation . . . with good judgment and courage to walk together, my oh my, what you can do for this college and this world."