CSULB
students meet “Real World” members
By Karl Peterson
On-line Forty-Niner
Members
of MTV’s “Real World, Las Vegas,” met Nov.
25 with Cal State Long Beach students to
discuss real issues and, of course, real
gossip.
Alton,
Irulan and Brynn, whose lives while living
as a group in Las Vegas, were chronicled
in the 11th season of the MTV program spoke
to a standing-room-only crowd of 400 at
the University Student Union ballroom about
how they were selected for the show, what
they thought of the show, what they are
doing now and issues such as adversity,
depression, cultural diversity and conflict
resolution.
The
program, which was presented by the USU
Program Council and sponsored by 100.3 The
Beat, included questions from the audience
such as how the cast members viewed their
portrayal on television. The cast
agreed that some of the program is taken
out of context but that there is no denying
that those were their actions. Brynn said
that she actually did not wear a pink dress
that appears in nearly every clip every
day as it would seem.
Perhaps
the biggest stir from the audience occurred
when Alton rather reluctantly announced
that he had broken off ties with ex-girlfriend
Melissa and that he and Irulan are now dating.
Many people in the crowd came to the event
to see the celebrity heartthrob Alton and
were surprised to hear he was now spoken
for.
“I
came because I watch the Real World and
I wanted to get a better feel for their
personalities,” Tameka Smith, a junior majoring
in creative writing, said. On Alton and
Irulan’s relationship, Smith said, “I think
it’s real cute. I don’t think it is going
to last, but I think it is real cute.”
On
another gossip front, Brynn announced that
she too has fallen in love since taping
of the show finished. Brynn is living in
Hermosa Beach with her new boyfriend who
is a member of a rock band. Brynn said to
the audience, “I’m dating a rock star.”
She later recanted saying he is not yet
a rock star but will be someday.
The
three celebrities decided to speak at the
engagement without influence from MTV. The
group cited that they were not paid well
for their appearance on the show and public
speaking is a good way to earn money from
their overnight popularity.
Each
cast member, stuck with the tradition of
the show and the tradition of celebrities
like Prince, Madonna and Cher who go by
only one name, chose a different topic to
discuss Monday.
Brynn
said that each member chose the topic they
would discuss by deciding, “What you know,
what you can communicate, and what you can
get the people to understand.”
Brynn,
ironically, spoke about conflict resolution,
explaining how her infamous fork-throwing
incident helped her understand that violence
is not a viable resolution to conflict.
On the show, Brynn was having a disagreement
with fellow cast member Steven and she resorted
to throwing a fork at him. She was nearly
removed from the show as a result of the
incident, which proved to her that violence
is worthless in such a situation.
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