The homopolar motor should work. I used to use a different version ... Put the magnet on the head of a screw, touch the point of the screw to one end of the battery and let it hang. Hold the battery in one hand and with a finger from that hand hold a piece of wire to the battery terminal opposite the screw (the top, that is). With your other hand, lightly touch the side of the magnet with the wire. The screw will begin to rotate. If the magnet is well centered so that balance is good, the screw will spin very fast.
Oh, here:
That works, guaranteed.
The dorm lights should be do-able by a small number of electronics geeks. I just wonder how they got everyone on that side of the building to cooperate. Might or might not be fake.
The magic water was for sure a hoax. Here is the REAL science behind that: