Why do we talk about things we think are harmful at any school then? If it’s all up to the students to fix, then we can all go on with our lives and not worry about any of the problems happening on our campuses. No more need for student advocates. No need for any kind of legislation to protect students. Just let the…

The more I think about this whole thing the more I want to know exactly what the syllabus says and exactly what he said during classes regarding the final. That’s the only way I’ll be able to say, “Ok, yeah, he really is just encouraging his students to go to places of discomfort for the betterment of their art.”

I’m wondering exactly how detailed the description was. Did he say, “You have two options for the final. 1. you will be physically naked with your classmates and myself in a candlelit classroom. or 2. you will be emotionally naked. If you are physically nude you will pass the final. If you are emotionally nude you…

Well sure, there’s the dictionary definition and the reality. If every university suddenly stopped being a sneaky for-profit business under a non-profit name, they would all close tomorrow.

That’s what I’m saying, coercing students into being naked with you in a candlelit room is not art. I guess you could call it his performance art, but not the student’s. I have an art degree myself and this assignment would have been laughed at in my school. It’s way too self indulgent for the teacher.

So if I think this assignment is violating and harmful, I can complain to the school because I don’t have a child enrolled there, but she can’t because she does have a child enrolled there? All of this adult-to-adult cuts the other way, too. Anyone can take a school to task over something they think is wrong, whether…

If I felt like a course at my kid’s college was harming students I’d say something. Just like if I felt like anything else happening at my kid’s college (or any college, look at all the articles posted here on Jez) was harming someone I’d say something. That’s all I’m fighting over, here. The fact that people are…

Wanting to know about the requirement of certain courses and demanding my kid’s grades are very very different.

“Non profits.” If you don’t think real, actual, honest to god accredited universities aren’t profiting then I don’t know what else to say.

If the woman speaking to the media about this class was just a local citizen who had heard about this assignment and had a problem with it, would you be just as resistant to the idea of her commenting on it? Or does this really all boil down to people not wanting parents to involve themselves in their children’s lives…

The dude in this gif was thrusting to the beat of the music I’m listening to and it made my day!

Teaching is not a service? Higher education is a for-profit business that provides people with a service, teaching them the things they will need to know in order to (hopefully) get a job. I paid for my degree and you better damn well believe I reminded my university more than once that they worked for me.

Candlelight makes everyone look better. He wants to make sure this art piece is as pleasing to look at as possible.

If they’re paying for the tuition they absolutely have jurisdiction. If I send my kid to college and pay thousands upon thousands of dollars I definitely want to have a say in what happens on that campus. I’m paying them for a service and if I think that service is lacking then I have a right to complain.

You’re absolutely right. “Stand naked and get a guaranteed A” or “get emotionally naked enough for my subjective liking and possibly fail” is not very fair.

As someone else mentioned it sounds like he’s crafted this assignment to ensure that everyone gets physically naked. Unless he provides clear guidelines and expectations with the “emotionally naked” option (which seems basically impossible to me, more along the lines of “Make me subjectively feel like you got…

Every single word that you wrote is exactly what I’ve been thinking while reading these comments. Artists can choose to be cool with nudity or not cool with nudity, just like everyone else. No student should ever have to choose between taking a class and being naked in front of everyone or not taking the class at all.…

Topokoko (or whatever his name is), right? That dude fucking loves Germany. I didn’t know that’s who you were referencing at first, I figured it was a little wink at German porn.

As far as I know that is all they do. They give free pregnancy tests and ultrasounds, then shame and lie to the woman about how if she has an abortion it’ll make baby Jeebus sad and he’ll give her cancer.