The Clarion

Issue date: 10/28/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Greg Timm Students perform as part of hypnotist Jim Wand's show at the Truax campus.

"I don't know what's going on. Why is my belt off," exclaimed Tyler Sankbeil, looking around in confusion at the small group of people surrounding him. "Did he make me take my pants off?" he asked, looking at his belt hanging from his hand.

Sankbeil was one of the 19 students that were hypnotized by Dr. Jim Wand on Oct. 14 in the cafeteria. This is Wand's seventh consecutive year performing at Madison Area Technical College, which was sponsored by the Programs and Activities Council (PAC).

"I change it up ever year. Next year all the material will be different," Wand said. "I won't do anything that I did last year or the year before or the year before that."

Students volunteered to be hypnotized and Wand weeded out the people who were not easily hypnotized. Students looked at a spinning ball covered in LED lights as Wand relaxed them and then tested who was hypnotized.

For the next 45 minutes, students were in for a treat as the 19 participants danced following the actions of a doll, stood up as WWE fighters, participated in American Idol as famous singers and did other stunts that left the audience holding their sides with laughter.

Wand asked the crowd how to end the show, in Vegas style or in college style, which the crowd answered with a resounding "Vegas" cheer. So before waking the participants up, they became exotic dancers and made their way back to where they were sitting before waking up confused, wondering what they had done.

Samantha Shapiro said that she volunteered to be hypnotized because it seemed fun and she hadn't been hypnotized before. Right after the show Shapiro said she remembers, "staring at the light and then going out," but noting else after that. "After I looked back at it all it was kind of fun," she said.

There is no specific scientific explanation of what causes a person to be hypnotized, but general consensus is that a person's conscious mind is subdued and their unconscious mind takes over, reacting to the suggestions. As Wand made a point of explaining to the audience, no one will do anything that makes them uncomfortable, even while hypnotized.

Wand became interested in hypnotism by being hypnotized himself. "I used to weigh 220 and was hypnotized for weight loss and it worked so I change my major in school to psychology," he said. Wand received his doctorate from the University of Southern California and ran a clinic for eight years before being introduced to the entertainment industry. Wand is now the owner of Wand Enterprises and performs over 250 shows a year.

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