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By TOM EVANS

Times Staff Writer


STAMFORD -- The host doled out a few lessons himself Tuesday during the taping of two "Goes to College" episodes of "The Steve Wilkos Show" inside the Stamford Media Center at the Rich Forum.

A raucous, packed house of more than 200 college students -- including those from UConn-Stamford, UConn-Storrs, UMass-Amherst, Iona College, Pace University and Northeastern University -- provided the energetic backdrop for topics such as hazing, stripping to pay for college, and the recanted rape charges against some Hofstra University students.

After nearly three hours of taping, Wilkos and his wife, Rachelle Wilkos, who is also the show's executive producer, felt they may have enough material for two shows, which was confirmed Wednesday.

Wilkos, who served in the U.S. Marine Corps prior to a 12-year stint as a police officer in Chicago, gained notoriety as director of security for "The Jerry Springer Show," before serving as the substitute host on more than 50 episodes.

"The Steve Wilkos Show" began taping before a live audience in Stamford last August after NBC Universal moved the show from Chicago, along with "The Jerry Springer Show" and "Maury," hosted by Maury Povich.

"I really enjoyed doing this show," Wilkos said of the first episode in his three seasons devoted entirely to college students and the issues they face. "When we did the 'Teen Summit,' and this show, it gives me the sense of reaching out to a lot of kids. Now my whole thing is being a dad."

In the final segment of the night, three of the five men falsely accused of rape took center stage. Rachelle Wilkos applauded the courage it took for the men to tell their stories.

"I wouldn't want my daughter involved in something like this, but it was pretty brave of them to come on the show," she said. "In these cases, you don't often hear the whole story. You always hear about the rape victim. Here, these boys' lives are ripped apart."

During the taping, Steve Wilkos pointed out that two of the accused watched and filmed the consensual sex between the woman and two of the men.

That video footage caused the case against the men to crumble, and prompted the woman to say she lied about being raped.

"I think you all showed bad judgment," Wilkos said. "In a way, that video was a good thing to save your (butts). I'm not being a prude, and I enjoy sex as much as the next guy. Maybe if you hold yourselves to a higher level of conduct, stuff like this wouldn't happen."

While most of the audience's response was empathetic toward the three men, one female student -- a junior at Hofstra -- felt the issue was being trivialized.

"I thought (the false rape charge) was horrible," she said. "What you do in your private life is your business. But you're making a circus out of this."

Wilkos disagreed, saying this is just an opportunity for the men to tell their side of the story.

"We're not making a circus out of it; this is the point of the show," the host said. "I want to do everything to protect my daughter and everyone else's daughter."

One of the accused, 20-year-old Jesus Ortiz, said he's trying to turn the horror of having his name dragged through the headlines into a positive.

"People said I was a monster," Ortiz said. "I can't play baseball (at Bronx Community College) because the coach says I'm a negative influence on the team. I want to be a social worker or guidance counselor to help people like they helped me."

In the most poignant segment of the show, the mother of a hazing recipient who died of water intoxication after being forced to drink close to 25 gallons of water while standing in a basement where raw sewage had backed up and covered the floor.

When her son, Matt, collapsed on the floor in the 40-degree room, those doing the hazing failed to call paramedics for an hour.

"The pledges were vomiting and urinating on themselves, and Matt had a seizure," Debbie recalled while fighting back tears. "One (of those doing the hazing) decided to call 911, but another said he was OK. When someone drinks that much water, the brain swells, and you drown from the inside out. They allowed it to happen because they were afraid to call for help."

Debbie explained that the hazing law in California produced the first felony hazing conviction in the United States, and that seven of those responsible served prison time.

"The reason we're doing this show is I'm a parent now," Wilkos said. "We can't protect kids from everything, but we try."

The most boisterous segment -- and that's saying something, with more than 200 college students in the small studio -- centered around Katie, a college student who has been paying her way through school as a stripper for seven months.

"I'm not living the stripper lifestyle," Katie said. "I'm not sleeping around, and I'm confident and comfortable with my body. I just strip to get through college."

Katie's boyfriend was not supportive of her choice of work, saying that his family and friends "are laughing at me because I'm dating a stripper."

"My boyfriend is constantly harassing me," Katie said. "(Stripping) is like acting. I don't want all those guys, and I think he should know I'm not getting their (phone) numbers. He's not paying for my college, and he calls me a slut ... and he pushes me all the time."

That was enough to elicit one of Wilkos strongest responses of the night.

"The first time he puts hands on you should be the last time he puts hands on you," Wilkos said. "You're beautiful, young, and you've got a lot going for you."

The audience responses predominantly favored Katie dumping her boyfriend -- and that's just what she did to close the segment.

"My biggest goal is to get through college," Katie said. "My decision is I'm going to be done with (my boyfriend)."

Wilkos followed the roar of approval from the audience with one of his trademark remarks.

"As with any guy on my show who hits women ... Get Off My Show!" Wilkos bellowed, before turning to Katie. "Don't take abuse from anyone else."

These episodes are expected to air on Feb. 11 and 12 on FOX 61 at 3 p.m.

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