SMOKE AND MIRRORS: Mind reader Steve Banachek visited Tillman last week.
DAVID KALK/SENIOR STAFF

Sara Helms
STAFF WRITER                                                                                                       

The Clemson Chapter of the Association for India’s Development (AID) presented “An Amazing Mind Reader Show” starring world-known professional mind reader Steve Banachek. Being the skeptic that I am, I have to admit when I heard about the amazing “mind reader” my first reaction was, yeah right. Visions of the movie Ghost filled my mind; Whoopi Goldberg and her fraudulent sisters trying to scam some poor, gullible soul into believing in their psychic powers. I couldn’t erase my thoughts of Whoopi along with pictures of a psychic named Ezmerelda, nonetheless, whom I once came in contact with outside of a pawnshop in New York City. She claimed she could read my mind for a “mere” $25 a question. A little sketchy? You could say that. So when I went to the show in Tillman on Monday night I was feeling pretty confident that I would leave the show just as leery of mind reading as I had been when I walked in.

Upon entering Tillman, I was offered a slice of pizza along with a pamphlet about the show and the organization that sponsored it. Front and center, as I presumed, was a picture of the magic man himself with little alien-looking figures dangling around his head. Inscriptions like, “Witness someone bleed by voodoo” were written across his picture. Great I thought; I’m in for a long night. But oh how things change.

The show started off with a few words about AID, the non-profit volunteer organization that supports the development of India. The organization is aimed at improving education, health care, family planning, vocational training, women’s rights, child-care and rural development in India. Immediately, I felt a little better about this whole thing, at least the money was going to a good cause.

Banachek threw me off guard with his clean-cut appearance and tailored suit. I was expecting someone a little more exotic looking. He walked across the stage smiling at the audience and warming up with a few jokes about his career. Although he’s often confused as a psychic, Banachek assured us that he was a mind reader and would rely heavily on the audience’s minds to perform the show. His tone was light and friendly. Within minutes he began randomly picking audience members to help him with the demonstrations. He continued this trend of random selection throughout the show. (For all of you skeptics, random you say? I can vouch for him here. I was picked as a helper myself.)

The mind reading began with Banachek trying to prove his ability as a mind reader. He pulled two members from the audience and had them witness as he duct-taped both of his eyes and his nose shut and then covered his eyes with a black mask (just in case). He asked the two participants to collect random items from the audience.