Freshmen under spell at McClelland

Thursday night is a good night to get away from the stresses and annoyances of academic life at Penn. It would be a great night to experience the pleasures of sitting on a beach in the tropics. For about 30 Penn students, last night was just such a night. At least that is what hypnotist Chuck Sacci would have you believe. Sacci entertained a group of predominantly undergraduate students with a 90-minute hypnotism presentation in McClelland Hall. "Hypnosis allows someone to concentrate on a task, goal, idea, sensation or anything, much more than they usually would," he explained. "They can actually create sensation with their imagination." That is, of course, providing they are actually hypnotized. Sacci admits that some people are more susceptible to being hypnotized than others, but claims that anyone can, sooner or later, be put under. There were varying levels of receptivity among those who volunteered, with some students raising questions as to how genuine the reactions were. "I volunteered because I wanted to see if it would work on me. I don't know if it did, but it did feel warmer when he was talking about the beaches," College freshman and participant Jennifer Dubon said. "I think a lot of the kids were faking though. They were a bit over the top." Sacci, a full-time hypnotist for 20 years, stands by his techniques, quoting studies done at Harvard Medical School as evidence of both hypnotism's legitimacy and its medical benefits. "Hypnosis is being used in place of anesthetic for a lot of surgeries these days, and definitely reduces cholesterol levels, stress levels and just overall makes you a healthier person," Sacci said. Some in the audience seemed skeptical, but intrigued, particularly when Sacci spoke of past-life regressions, methods of studying while asleep and self-induced highs comparable to those experienced on drugs. "With self-hypnosis, you can get yourself to go under and give yourself your own natural highs whenever you want," Sacci said. While none of the volunteers seemed to be experiencing the "highs" of hypnosis, they were "traveling" from beaches to mountaintops, impersonating Elvis Presley, eating ice cream cones and walking like ducks. Some of those hypnotized were open-minded towards Sacci's work. Amanda Shiffman, a College junior who had been hypnotized before and who volunteered last night, said "parts of it were definitely real, but I remember everything that happened, so who knows for sure?" Regardless of whether or not the volunteers were genuinely hypnotized, they were certainly freed from inhibitions they might have otherwise had and were open to the semi-exotic study break Sacci offered.