From: http://www.alligator.org/pt2/070222abc.php

Soap stars to visit campus

By BRITTANY DAVIS

Alligator Writer

Meg Pabst curls up on the couch every day to follow the drama of Luke and Laura on "General Hospital." But on March 2, she will get a closer view of her favorite stars simply by attending class.

On that date, five ABC soap stars will tour campus and go to class with the freshman. To bring them to UF, Pabst had to prove she loved "General Hospital" more than the other 200 students from around the country who also wanted the cast to visit their schools.

The competition started in November with an online application in which Pabst answered about 15 essay questions.

"Whom do you relate with most on the show?" the application asked.

She picked Lulu, Laura and Elizabeth.

"I hope I'm a spitfire like Lulu, and I hope that I'm confident like Laura and that I'm like Elizabeth when I feel like a damsel in distress," she said.

Pabst has been a devoted fan of "General Hospital" since third grade. That summer, she started watching the show with her mom in their Tampa home. But when Pabst entered the contest, she doubted she would win.

"I didn't tell anyone I had entered the contest at first, because it's so ridiculous," she said. "I mean, who does this?"

In early December, an ABC representative called Pabst to tell her she was one of 25 finalists. The representative also assigned Pabst her next task: have a soap-opera-themed party and find a creative way to show ABC that it was a success. The representative mailed her $500 in party supplies for the gathering.

On Jan. 11, Pabst and about 40 of her friends played games like "Pin the Head on the Hunk" and "So You Think You Know Your Soap?" while "General Hospital" played in the background.

Classics senior Donna Reynolds said that Pabst didn't participate in soap opera trivia because she was busy hosting the party but that if Pabst had played she would have won.

"She knows everything about the shows," said Reynolds.

After the celebration, Pabst glued party pictures into a scrapbook she sent to ABC. The colorful pages convinced the stars to visit.

To offer proof of Pabst's soap-opera obsession, Reynolds said Pabst goes to Super Soap Weekend with her mom and grandma every year.

"She always gets up at 4 or 5 a.m., and they wait in these ridiculous lines to see these soap stars for just a second," Reynolds said.

A week ago, Pabst was walking on campus when she flipped open her Motorola cell phone to learn she had won the contest. She was shocked, but she said she played it cool.

"I didn't scream or anything because I was walking back from class, but I told him, 'You can't be serious!'" Pabst said.

She called her mom immediately to tell her the good news.

Secretly, this soap-opera fan hopes Dr. Patrick Drake, the hunky neurosurgeon played by Jason Thompson, will make an appearance, but so far he's not on the schedule.

"I was holding out a little hope they would have my dreamboat," she said.

ABC representative Mitch Messinger said Scott Clifton, who plays Dillon Quartermaine; Bradford Anderson, who plays Damian Spinelli; and Kiko Ellsworth, who plays Jamal Woods, are among the soap stars coming to UF. John-Paul Lavoisier, who plays Rex Balsom on "One Life to Live," and Jeff Branson, who plays Jonathan Lavery on "All My Children," are also scheduled to attend.

The actors will throw a party for students on the North Lawn from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Video clips from the event will air the following month on ABC.

Pabst said she wants to behave naturally when she meets the soap stars.

"I don't want to act like that kind of fan," she said. "I just want to hang out."

I wish ATWT stars would come visit my campus!

Considering that college students are now counted as viewers in the Nielson's, I wouldn't be surprised if all the soaps try to go to colleges to increase viewership.