Old Gold and Black > 4.4.02 > Students appear on 'Sally Jesse'

By Phil Glynn
News Editor

Most of the time, the only university students who can claim to be both campus and nationwide celebrities are dunking a basketball, swinging for the fences or sinking a putt. But there are exceptions. Two university students leapt from local stardom into that 15-minute limelight in an unusual way: The Sally Jessy Raphael Show. "I never thought I'd be on a talk show," freshman Anna Hight said.

It is true that Hight and fellow freshman Emily Word are not the typical stars of a talk show. They aren't mired in any political scandals or at the center of a sordid love triangle. All they had to do was be born on the same day, in the same hospital, then years later come to the same university, then even decide to pledge the same sorority, Kappa Delta. This could be chance right? By the way, they will be rooming together in the fall.

Hight and Word were featured in the March 28 edition of the Old Gold and Black. Their story was picked up online by the well-known talk show, which decided to invite them to be guests. Feb. 31 Hight and Word found out they would be going to New York. "They called us on a Thursday, we flew out on a Sunday and filmed on Monday," Word said. "It didn't feel real. It was an unbelievable situation. Someone is offering you a free trip to New York to be on TV."

The girls spent Sunday in Manhattan, the perfect place for a day of sightseeing. Like any fashionable tourists in the big apple for a weekend, the girls also went shopping, but perhaps with a greater sense of urgency than most. "The airline lost my bag, so I had to go shopping," Word said. The girls got the star treatment for the shoot on Monday, when they were taken to the studio in a limousine and served a catered lunch.

They went through the show but had to leave the studio immediately after.

They had a flight to catch out of Newark to get back to school.

The show aired April 3 and members of Kappa Delta packed Shorty's to watch Hight and Word's unlikely story.

The pair was excited to see the story finally air, but were not immune to the natural cringing and gasping of anyone who sees themselves on television. They were glued to the television through all sighs, cheers and applause of their fellow KDs.

As the spot ended, Hight and Word were all smiles taking friendly compliments and jibes alike. Overall, the girls said that they were very satisfied with the experience.

"It was really just a random and fun experience," Hight said.

The girls were also glad that they were able to pass through the world of the talk show while remaining above some of the more low brow material for which the genre is famous.

They agree it is remarkable that their mother's shared a hospital room on the day of the coincidental births. But É "at least our fathers aren't the same person," Word said.


The Student Newspaper of Wake Forest University	Established 1916