On January 4th, the first Tuesday back from winter break, the Riverdale Assembly Committee shocked the sleepy-eyed student body with a humorous, interactive experience in the place of a guest speaker. Enter hypnotist Ronny Romm. The students who volunteered to be hypnotized by him had no idea what they were in for: a fifty minute, full-body experience. Aside from hypnosis, Romm performed feats of extrasensory perception, also known as ESP or sixth sense. ESP involves the claimed reception of information not acquired through the recognized physical senses but through the mind. Romm has an extensive background in entertaining people of all ages through the use of hypnosis and ESP.
As an audience member, I experienced the shocking magic of the performance first-hand. Curious about how other students felt being hypnotized or watching the assembly, I decided to interview a few of my fellow ninth-graders. They all agreed that the assembly was entertaining and enjoyable to watch, and that it was a refreshing deviation from the typical, more serious kinds of assemblies. Ninth-grader Paulina Reznikova expressed that “the electricity and laughter in the air really melted everyone’s drowsiness. A lot more people were smiling throughout the assembly and left feeling a lot happier than when they first came in.”
Reflecting on the experience of witnessing her peers being hypnotized first-hand, ninth-grader Nitya Rajpal noted that she “really liked seeing how the hypnosis affected the participants and how it seemed, for a few of them, that they were actually experiencing artificial conditions.” In one instance, the student volunteers were told that they were on a sunny beach, and started fanning themselves and taking off their shoes. In another case, a group of students were convinced that they were Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child performing “Single Ladies” for a concert.
Reznikova also noted that, because we were watching our own peers be hypnotized, the experience was even more entertaining: “I’ve been to hypnosis performances before, but this one, with more people in the audience and our very own student body being hypnotized, was all the more fun.” She continued, remarking that she “talked to multiple people after the assembly and they told me that their entire day was brightened by the speaker, and I have to say I agree.”
While many of the students truly were hypnotized, a select few were not compelled by Romm. One participant, who prefers to remain anonymous, revealed that when being on the stage they felt “nervous being in front of everyone in the gym” and due to that reason they “did not feel hypnotized.”
Those who were taken under the spell, however, were completely subjected to the command of Romm, unaware of their actions and true surroundings. Reznikova said that she “talked to a few people who were hypnotized afterward and they didn’t express any feelings of shame, only relaxation.” Those truly hypnotized felt as though they had just slept for a full six hours when they woke up from the trance.
Another ninth-grader, Sohta Cheung-Naito, said that he “didn’t believe in hypnosis before the assembly and still [doesn’t],” but that “it was entertaining to see people acting in ways they normally wouldn't.” Ninth-grader Katherine Lu similarly loved the event. She told me that her “favorite parts were the Spice Boys,” a group of boys who thought they were the Spice Girls, and “when one boy thought he was giving birth,” she found it to be “an exciting experience.”
“It was fun to watch!” ninth-grader Ria Laddha agreed. “My favorite part is when he made them dance along to the music he played.”
The hypnosis assembly was one for the books. It visibly helped energize students and lift their spirits - even on a Tuesday!
