Juggling Club Builds Confidence for Students at CMU

Most college students are used to juggling a hectic schedule but Ben Ruetenik is accustomed to juggling swords, balls and rings as well.

The Lansing senior is a member of the CMU Juggling Club, a group of about 10 students who juggle together twice a week.

“Juggling helps improve your coordination and mental ability,” said Flushing sophomore Bryan Holloway.

Holloway said he started juggling in seventh grade with a couple of hacky sacks. The next day he bought a book and taught himself.

“A lot of people think it’s really hard to juggle, but in reality – anyone can do it if they just try,” he said.

The club isn’t strictly limited to jugglers, Paw Paw junior R. Beyer spits fire and rides a unicycle.

Beyer said he learned how to work with fire from a magician he met at MAINstage two years ago. After two months of training, Beyer had learned the basics and started working on his own.

“Before I go to spit fire I take a lot of deep breaths to maximize my lung capacity,” Beyer said. “Then I practice with water a few times, check the wind and then I go ahead and spray it.”

But Beyer said spitting fire isn’t always well-received on campus.

“Once, freshman year I was out in front of the Towers and an RA (Residence Assistant) told me to get away from the building because she thought I would start a fire,” he said.

Quincy Carswell spins poi, a form of juggling weighted balls connected to a string and are often lit on fire.

“I’ve only been doing this for five months,” the Gladwin freshman said. “The first time I tried doing it with fire was when I did a show for my family at my little brother’s tenth birthday two months ago.”

Ruetenik said the group meets twice a week at 2:30 p.m. of Wednesday and 3:30 p.m. on Friday in Warriner Mall if the weather is fair and in Finch Fieldhouse if it is not.

“Anyone who is hesitant to join should just come out and watch us,” Beyer said. “You don’t have to participate if you don’t want to.”