People rushed in when the doors of the Carl Sandburg Auditorium finally opened 15 minutes late Wednesday night, first bottle-necking in the doorway, then making a mad dash to the front row.

The reason: Ruthie Alcaide from MTV’s “The Real World: Hawaii” visited NIU to speak about her experiences with alcohol, diversity, sexuality and celebrity.

Alcaide, whose “Real World” experiences included alcohol poisoning and a 28-day stint in rehab, said college students spend $5.5 billion on 430 million gallons of alcohol per year — more than food, clothes or even books.

She said she started drinking at college “keggers” and the “chug-chug-chug” mentality was a large factor in her later binge drinking.

“I didn’t really know I had a problem until I did ‘The Real World,'” Alcaide said. “And then I was just this train wreck that wouldn’t stop.”

Alcaide also touched on the connection between drinking and sex and gave some tips for safe drinking. She said she realized college students will drink no matter what; she still drinks herself, albeit in moderation, but there are ways to be safe about it.

“Make sure to drink lots of water and count your drinks,” Alcaide said. “If you can’t count how many drinks you’ve had, you need to stop.”

The second half of Alcaide’s speech dealt with racism and diversity. Her most compelling argument came in the form of a comparison between people and music.

“What is music?” Alcaide asked. “It’s beats and notes and rhythms, put together in all sorts of different ways. And what are people? People are blood and bones and organs. We’re all the same, we’re just put together differently.”

Ruthie’s friendly, easygoing manner impressed even skeptical attendees.

“I’ve never seen any of ‘The Real World,’ so I didn’t know what to expect,” said Beth Schrader, a sophomore theater studies major. “I thought she was very entertaining. Not necessarily informative, but the way she approached it was very refreshing.”

Sophomore nursing major Renee Consoer originally came to fulfill a requirement for her communication class but wound up enjoying herself as well.

“At first I thought it would just be a bunch of ‘Real World’ groupies who just asked her all about the show,” Consoer said. “But it was better than that because people seemed to take it seriously.”

In the Q-and-A session, Alcaide dealt with topics like how to get on “The Real World,” lack of diversity in the casts, the fact that the show is indeed unscripted and the realities of life after television.

“I remember watching the Conan O’Brien show back when Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt were still married,” Alcaide said. “Jennifer Aniston said something about something I’d done on the show, and it made me realize hey, if Jennifer Aniston is thinking about me, so is Brad Pitt!”