Chi Omega sorority brought a medium to perform a group spirit reading last Tuesday night as a part of their annual philanthropic Wish Week.
Christina Raccasi, a member of Chi Omega and Wish Week chair, walked onto the stage and thanked the audience for attending and for their donations to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. She then introduced Gina Simone, a psychic medium from Long Island.
Simone greeted the audience and then gave a quick overview of what the audience should expect throughout the reading. She made it very clear that she was not a psychic; psychics can see into the future. Simone was a spirit medium, which is a person who connects with loved ones who have passed on.
“At this point I was very excited about the session,” Rachael Moody, a freshman at the University of Rhode Island, said. “If she [Simone] could actually do what she said she could, I would be so impressed.”
She began the session by talking about a young boy who drove with her in the car on the way to URI, who wore his hat backwards and had a “T” initial, and then asked if that information resonated with anyone. Everyone in the room looked around anxiously for someone to raise their hand, but no one did. Even with the lack of participation, Simone repeated these statements and walked towards a girl in an orange sweater. The girl in the orange sweater declined that the information meant something to her about three or four times. However, after some thought, she realized it did.
The girl in the audience said that this information was about a close family friend that passed away a few years ago. Simone continued to give the girl small pieces of information and the girl always found something relating to that family friend.
At every correct statement, the audience became more invested. They would look at each other in awe and start to mumble. The girl became more surprised at each statement. After she finished her first reading, they seemed to get easier as she went along. The audience was more willing to participate and engage with Simone.
Crowd members were eager to communicate with someone who had passed on. Whenever Simone started a new reading, the whole ballroom got silent as students racked their brain for a connection to what she was talking about.
“I expected this show to be kind of lame,” Emily Bradie, a junior at URI, said. “I’ve watched different psychic shows on TV, but I had low expectations for this show because it wasn’t organized by the university.”
Brady initially had her hand raised at one point throughout this session, but soon after lowered it. She said that she thought Simone was talking about a relative of hers, but after seeing another audience member raise their hand, she was discouraged.
Throughout this session, Simone had 10-12 readings with a variety of spirits. A few she connected with included a horse, snake, grandmothers, uncles, and fathers. It seemed as if with each correct statement more and more students started to believe in her abilities.
At the end of the session she gave the audience some advice on how to connect with the spirits of loved ones. Simone instructed the audience to ask the spirit for a specific sign and a specific word, so when they saw or heard it, they would know a spirit is with them.
Amber Beech, a member of Chi Omega, explained that the show was good because Simone was personable and fun.
“She didn’t try to hide anything and was answering everyone’s questions,” Beech said.
Chi Omega is still continuing to raise money to grant a wish as apart of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and from the event, raised 1,000 dollars. Members of the sorority will have booths in the Memorial Union today and tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and donations will be accepted. To donate online, visit http://site.wish.org/site/TR?pg=team&fr_id=1585&team_id=6832.