Charmed, I'm sure

Students employ pencils, four-leaf clovers as good luck charms

A black cat crosses your path on your way to class. The mirror in your bathroom has cracked. When you finally sit down to read the morning newspaper, the date in the upper left-hand corner says Friday the 13th.

While some people think of Friday the 13th as any other day, superstitious people will try to avoid walking under ladders, allowing black cats to walk by them or cracking mirrors.

But one student, Casey Neubold (freshman-computer engineering), likes to test his luck to prove to others that he falls under the nonsuperstitious category.

"I often go out of my way and do things that people say will bring me bad luck, just to prove them wrong," Neubold said.

However, for those who are superstitious, there is a lot more to worry about than black cats and cracked mirrors.

The Internet contains many World Wide Web sites which describe different superstitions and their origins. One such site, members.aol.com/JuliannaA/scary.html, describes Friday as a bad day for the superstitious. Changing the bed on that day may bring bad dreams, while starting a trip on Friday could lead to misfortune.

Another ancient belief, according to www.cam.org/~jennyb/sources1.html, is that four-leaf clovers allow the finder to detect witches and recognize evil spirits. Now these little green leaves are considered good luck charms, much like the popular rabbit's paw.

Jeff Moroski (freshman-premedicine) said he used to look for four-leaf clovers when he was younger, but he now believes they don't really exist. He agrees that being superstitious is tedious.

"The whole idea of being superstitious is lame," Moroski said. "I especially hate the fact that some basketball players believe that wearing the same jersey or pair of socks for weeks will bring them good luck."

Other students think good luck charms can help them earn a good grade or have other good fortunes.

"I use a brand-new pencil every time I take a test because the lead isn't used up and (the pencil) will know the right answer because it has a fresher mind," Miriah Meyer (junior-astrophysics) said.

Despite numerous beliefs revolving around Friday the 13th, such as numbers and even body parts, Amy Smith (freshman-nutrition) looks to the sky for her superstitious beliefs.

"I definitely feel that the full moon has something to do with the way people act," Smith said. "I have trouble sleeping whenever the full moon is out."