eyewitness story

Liam DeFazio

“Sort of Amazing Barry” Impresses Class

"Sort of Amazing Barry" Gordemer pulls off a successful magic trick for his Writing for Communication class on October 2 (Jaclyn Merica)

           Magician "Sort of Amazing Barry" Gordemer stunned the members of his writing for communication class by pulling off a successful magic trick this afternoon. Gordemer explained how he wanted to use the card trick to show that he could control people's minds.

            Gordemer described at the beginning of his presentation how he has been interested in magic for awhile. He was inspired by Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars, and how he could control the minds of others. Gordemer has been learning the Jedi ways of mind control as well, and says that it works.

Gordemer started out the trick by giving each group of classmates five cards, and telling them to pick
 one. They then gave the cards back to him.

Gordemer hands the cards out to all of the students in his writing for communication class on October 2nd (Jaclyn Merica)

He laid out all of the cards on the table, in five rows of five. He asked each group which row the card was in. After they told him, he guessed which card was the group’s, and was right each time. However, he skipped over one group in the middle, and handed them an envelope to hold on to.

Gordemer sweeps his hand over each row, telling the students to let him know when he gets to the row that their card is in (Jaclyn Merica)

After he guessed correctly for all of the other groups, he came back to that group. He told them to open the envelope, and inside the envelope, it said the name of the card that they had picked. Shavawn White, the student who opened the envelope, reacted with complete shock. When interviewed, she said that it was “mind blowing.” After he successfully pulled off the trick, Barry said that “religions have been started for less than this.”

            Matt Morrissey, a student in the classroom, said that the trick was proof that Gordemer “can read minds” and “can levitate.” He said that Barry is “Merlin reborn.” Another student, John Burns, disagreed that actual magic was performed, saying that it was probably a “trick,” and was accomplished using “deductive reasoning,” as opposed to “Jedi powers.”