Ever since Jim Spinnato made his debut performance at Ledyard High School, students are still in shock. Those who witnessed his ability to hypnotize are still sharing videos from the night. From rapping to yodeling, the night was definitely full of random acts. Despite the laughter and outrageous performances, there was one individual who sat in the auditorium and watched Spinnato a little too closely. That person is me.

As an up and coming comedian, I enjoy a good laugh. So as I sat in the slightly crowded and overheated auditorium, I went along with the show. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it and laughed a little too loudly. But part of me did not enjoy the show as much as I could have because of the obvious elephant in the room. Hypnotism is not real and was definitely not real that Saturday night. The type of hypnosis I witnessed was nothing but a joke.

The eager volunteers that made their way up to the stage did not seem to be phased by the bright lights and music playing in the background. This made me very skeptical because if I knew that I was about to be tricked by a stranger in a suit, I would be a little nervous. The most sketchy part about the show was how fast the volunteers “fell asleep.” Spinnato would simply place his hand on their head and they would fall into a “deep” sleep. I personally have never been told by a hypnotist to do something, but if these volunteers actually went from being wide awake to being in a full sleep in a matter of seconds, I would like to know the secret.

In the long run, this show’s purpose was to simply raise money and entertain a community. In that sense it was a success; But I for one do not believe that these students were in a trance of hypnosis where they were under the control of Jim Spinnato. Go ahead and call me a party pooper, but I do not believe that these students do not remember their actions.

Until Spinnato returns, I will continue to believe this but I do plan on volunteering for his next performance in the spring. Stay tuned for another opinion of this so –  called hypnosis act.

Megan Brawner, Editor in Chief

Senior Megan Brawner is the Editor-in-Chief of the 2015-2016 Colonel. She is the captain of the cross country team and runs Indoor and Outdoor Track. She participates in Youth United for Global Action and Awareness (YUGA) Club and is the secretary of the Senior Class. She is the Editor of Key Club.