By Stephanie Peters
As former cast members on MTV’s “Road Rules,” millions of viewers have followed either the drama of their daily lives or the cutthroat, and often backstabbing, competition of MTV’s endless stream of “challenges.” But outside their television obligations, the true story is in the work Shane Landrum, Rachel Robinson and Veronica Portillo do to promote tolerance, specifically on gay and lesbian issues, through speaking tours of college campuses.
In an event co-sponsored by the Northeastern University Allied Student Coalition (NUASC), the Northeastern University Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Transgendered and Straight Alliance (NUBiLAGA) and the Student Government Association (SGA), Landrum, Robinson and Portillo will be on campus to speak Friday evening.
The MTV stars will speak about issues relating to diversity on all fronts, including race, gender and sexuality. They will also address how quickly people stereotype each other, said Jamie Machotka, NUASC communications chair and a main organizer of the event.
“Each of [the speakers] is diverse, whether it’s racially or in terms of their sexuality. Therefore, they have been stereotyped and judged and they are able to convey to others what that feels like and why and how it should be avoided,” Machotka said. “With Northeastern being such a diverse campus I expect all students to be able to relate to most, if not all, topics being addressed.”
Landrum and Robinson, both cast members on “Road Rules 11: Campus Crawl” are openly gay, while “Road Rules: Semester at Sea” cast member Portillo is straight. Although some may question what qualifies these twenty-somethings whose claim to fame is MTV’s voyeuristic series to speak on such serious issues, SGA Vice President of Administration and Public Relations John Guilfoil says it’s about experience.
“I think the event goes with NU’s base philosophy that we’re all about experience,” Guilfoil said. “We’re bringing in three people who have a lot of experience having been on these shows and gone through the drama and dealt with serious issues in the public eye. It’s always good to hear real-life stories.”
While they may be regular people, they publicly dealt with many of the issues younger people struggle with in private and that’s what makes the speakers attractive to a college audience, NUASC Vice President Kevin Rivera said.
“They’re people that everyone knows and recognizes, but who can talk about GLBT issues in a college setting, and tolerance in general,” Rivera said.
Freshman English major Kristen Dwyer, a fan of both Real World and Road Rules, had a similar opinion of the event.
“People see them on television and think that they’re interesting or that they’re celebrities,” Dwyer said. “I think that they open people’s eyes because they kind of had to deal with their own problems, but in a public way.”
Other students, including freshman business major Nicole Bekerian, were excited to hear about the event because of their love for the show.
“I think ‘Road Rules’ and ‘RW/RR Battle of the Sexes 2′ are hilarious,” Bekerian said. “I watch them all; I love them.”
However, not all students agree with the student groups’ opinions that the MTV cast members are logical guest speakers on such important issues.
“Are they more qualified than anyone else [to be speakers]? To a certain extent they’re just like us, but all they did was live in a house they didn’t pay for and run around partying — that’s not real,” said Quy Nguyen, a freshman journalism major. “People don’t watch those shows for life lessons. They’re celebrities, that’s it.”
In addition to addressing issues of diversity and tolerance, Landrum, Robinson and Portillo will talk about the RW/RR challenges and show behind-the-scenes photos and clips. A question and answer session, a meet-and-greet and the opportunity for photos and autographs will follow the event, Machotka said.
The event is free to all, and will take place in the West Addition of the Curry Student Center Friday at 8 p.m.
