Karamo and Sarah from the Real World Philadelphia give a thumbs up toward diversity at the Auditorium last night. With a crowd of more than 200, the cast members talked about racism, sexuality and drinking.

Credit: Andrew popik

Karamo was so drunk, he didn’t remember that Sarah changed his underwear.

“Drink. Have a good time. But, drink responsibly,” Karamo warned.

Karamo and Sarah, cast members from “The Real World: Philadelphia,” had some pertinent messages for the crowd of about 350 last night in the Auditorium: “Party, do everything you can, get involved with everything you can,” Karamo said. “It will make your experience so much better.”

Before Karamo was cast on the show, he said he felt like he was going to be the coolest, but after he arrived at the MTV house, he felt like the weirdest cast member. Once, he felt like he had an open mind. After being on the show, he found out he was in a bubble.

“This week, meet somebody different,” Karamo said. “Talk to them, find out where they’re from.”

Karamo appreciated sitting down and talking to other cast members, he said, and learning their background.

Sarah said she had a similar experience to Karamo’s.

“I think we all walked out a little less judgmental,” Sarah said.

That feeling can extend to areas such as sex. She said she likes sex, and she’s open about the topic. She told the audience she hasn’t had sex in four months, and she doesn’t understand how people can call her suggestive names.

“Even if I was like that, I’m a 24-year-old woman. I can do what I want,” she said, which brought on cheers from the students.

She acknowledged there is a sexual double standard for men and women.

“When a guy brings a girl home twice a month, it’s cool, but when a girl brings a guy home twice a month, she’s a slut,” she said.

Melissa Mack, a freshman exploratory major, said she agreed with Sarah, and she liked the fact Sarah brought the double-standard issue to attention.

Following the presentation, students could ask questions about the show.

One student asked how much of the show was staged.

“It was really a raw experience,” Sarah said, “and the interaction was real.”

Karamo said the only thing staged on the show was the challenges.

“When we’re there, it feels like summer camp,” Sarah said.

They both said they forgot about the cameras on the set, even though, Karamo said, surveillance cameras were mounted on their beds and could hear them while they were sleeping.

They weren’t supposed to talk to or about the producers during the show, Karamo said. Sarah flirted with them all the time and gave them nicknames even though her house mates reminded her that she was supposed to pretend they were invisible.

“She would be like, ‘No, he’s right there. I can see him,’” he said.

Contact general assignment reporter Theresa Edwards at [email protected].