It was a graphic demonstration in which two students, dressed as military interrogators, waterboarded her - a torture technique where a piece of cloth was rammed into her mouth and water poured on it. Her hair was also pulled while her head was forced into a basin of water.
Moments after each instalment of torture, the room was filled with gurgling screams. By her own admission, Eleanor said it was frightening - even if it was just acting.
‘‘Ninety percent of it was acting. But these guys were good. They did things unexpectedly, which was pretty scary.
‘‘The waterboarding was the worst. Most people can handle it for about 14 seconds before they start to gag. Water trickles down your throat and eventually goes into your lungs. Most people confess at that stage".
The demonstration was given by members of the University of Otago branch of Amnesty International to highlight their stance against water torture around the world.
It was also to draw attention to a free film titled Shame - A Look into Torture and Interrogation Methods to be screened at Castle 2 Lecture Theatre at 7pm tomorrow.
Fellow student and torturer Sam Thomas said the display was too much for many students, who were eating lunch in the union. Many opted to move away.
‘‘Some people were making wisecracks during the interrogation. That just made me angry. It made me step it up and make it more real".
But for some, it was a little too real. Sam was almost assaulted during the interrogation by another student, who thought the demonstration was getting out of hand.
‘‘One guy thought it was excessive and too aggressive. He asked if Eleanor was OK and he looked like he was ready to jump us. That's the desired result. People will talk about this".
Despite the drama, Eleanor said the performance was well rehearsed and she was never in danger of drowning.
Ironically, the codeword to halt proceedings if they got out of hand was ‘‘Amnesty'', she said.