HANNA CHU
Assistant A&E Editor
Freshman Casey Reinhardt (Photo courtesy Graham Shea/Photo Editor)
Word spreads fast through the Peppervine when a student takes a stab at reality TV fame. For freshman Casey Reinhardt, news of her blossoming entertainment career hit campus before she set foot on Malibu soil thanks to the success of MTV’s reality show “Laguna Beach” and her personal, but very public, Facebook account.
Reinhardt joined the cast in the second season of the show when she transferred to Laguna Beach High School from Mater Dei High School, a private Catholic school, after losing a close friend.
Reinhardt described the show as a “video yearbook” of her senior year. She said she was grateful for the opportunity to be part of a successful show.
“MTV heard that I was the new girl at school and kept calling and asking me to be part of the show,” she said.
While fans and critics alike have questioned the program’s authenticity as a reality show, Reinhardt said “Laguna Beach” is as real as they come.
She said the show is unscripted and offers an accurate depiction of life for her and her friends.
“They do a lot with the editing, but it is our life,” Reinhardt said. “It is what we do.”
For the cast of “Laguna Beach,” high school life involves all the typical petty dramas such as gossip, dating and parties. These elements are amplified by the presence of a camera crew, which is always on hand to capture the parade of teenage angst.
Reinhardt said she had to deal with a lot of the gossip that comes with being the new girl at school on the show. While she was able to maintain a friendship with some of her fellow cast members, like Lauren Conrad, or “LC,” she said her relationship with Kristin Cavalleri and some other cast members was anything but pleasant.
“Personally, the girls have been really awful to me, and they talk about me and stuff, but I’m just stronger from the whole experience,” she said.
Now Reinhardt has transitioned into being the new girl and reality star at Pepperdine.
And while most incoming students have some experience with boyfriend drama and backstabbing friends, few have watched the whole affair unravel on national television with their friends and family as witnesses.
“It’s funny to see those girls talk about her because I know her in a more personal way,” said her best friend Lauren Parsekian, who is also a freshman at Pepperdine.
“I can’t let it get to me because if I did, it’d just make me crazy,” Reinhardt said. “I just laugh at it and think it’s the most hilarious thing I’ve ever heard.”
Reinhardt also said that it was her spiritual life that ultimately helped her to get through the tough times.
“It’s so important to be focused on the Lord, because that reflects everything else,” she said. “I just pray about it.”
As part of the “Laguna Beach” cast, Reinhardt said she benefited from many different perks.
“We get a lot of special privileges,” she said. “We can get concert tickets anywhere, and we can get backstage passes. We got to go to the MTV Video Music Awards because we’re actually the No.-1 show on MTV right now.”
Reinhardt said she also had the opportunity to go to Diddy’s VMA after-party.
Although filming “Laguna Beach” was the highlight of her high school experience, Reinhardt said she is ready to move on to bigger and better things at Pepperdine.
“Pepperdine has always been my dream school,” she said. “I’ve loved it since I knew what college was.”
She said she is excited to be on her own and learn from the college experience, along with the rest of the incoming freshman class.
“I hope that people don’t think that because I’m on the show, I don’t want to be their friend or something,” she said. “I came to college because I want to meet people. I want to experience things.”
While many freshmen experience the awkwardness of starting over in college, Reinhardt’s experience has been magnified by her role on the show.
Reinhardt said she cannot avoid feeling that all eyes are on her, waiting in anticipation of what the “Laguna Beach” girl will be like.
“It’s weird because I feel like people are looking at me different,” Reinhardt said.
Suitemate Sarah Yoo has observed that a lot of people are unnecessarily mean to her.
“She’s really sweet,” Yoo said. “She’s really a nice person.”
Another thing that has set Reinhardt apart from other students is having a single room for security and privacy concerns. Strangers also frequently approach her to talk about “Laguna Beach” or ask her questions.
Overall, Reinhardt said her experience at Pepperdine has been a positive one.
“I have grown so much in just one week of school,” she said. “The teachers are really supportive of you doing well. I think that’s so important when you’re trying to get good grades.”
“The whole atmosphere just makes me feel so good,” she added.
And one thing Reinhardt said she has struggled with is something that all Pepperdine students deal with each day: the campus terrain.
“There’s so much walking,” Reinhardt said.
09-08-2005
