Anti Federalist
04-18-2014, 12:37 PM
Ugh...
Bergen Community College professor suspended over 'Game of Thrones' quote on daughter's T-shirt
http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen-community-college-professor-suspended-over-game-of-thrones-quote-on-daughter-s-t-shirt-1.998396?page=all
http://www.northjersey.com/polopoly_fs/1.998443.1397759554!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_300/041714-bcc-tshirt-dngso.jpg
No one has lost a head or slain a dragon or staged a purple wedding. Not yet, anyway.
Francis Schmidt, a professor of arts and animation, posted a picture on Google+ of his daughter doing yoga in a shirt reading, "I will take what is mine in fire and blood," the tagline for the new season of the HBO show.
But a bloodless modern-day version of “Game of Thrones” may be afoot this semester at Bergen Community College, where a quote from the dark and wildly popular HBO TV fantasy series has ignited a bizarre controversy involving a teacher suspension and allegations of payback against the backdrop of a protracted labor dispute.
It began Jan. 12 when Francis Schmidt, an art and 3-D animation professor, shared a photograph on Google+ with his social media contacts: It was his 7-year-old daughter Sophia in a yoga pose wearing a T-shirt that read, “I will take what is mine with fire & blood.”
One of those contacts was a dean at the college. The next day, Schmidt said, he was called before college officials, who questioned him as to whether the photo represented a threat against the dean.
As “Game of Thrones” fans will tell you, the quote comes from a character named Daenerys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke) who uttered that line during the second season of the show, which is based on the writing of Bayonne-born fantasy writer George R.R. Martin.
Schmidt said the Human Resources and security officials who interviewed him seemed unfamiliar with the show, so he searched for the quote on Google and came up with 30.8 million hits.
He said the interview, however, led to his suspension without pay and a trip to a psychiatrist before he was cleared to return to campus.
Schmidt said he asked the officials why they thought the slogan was threatening, and one said “when you see the word fire, then someone shows up with an AK-47 here shooting everybody,” he said.
“I had no idea what to say to that. For God’s sake, I’m a middle-aged art professor,” Schmidt said. “I don’t own any firearms.”
Bergen Community College professor suspended over 'Game of Thrones' quote on daughter's T-shirt
http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen-community-college-professor-suspended-over-game-of-thrones-quote-on-daughter-s-t-shirt-1.998396?page=all
http://www.northjersey.com/polopoly_fs/1.998443.1397759554!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_300/041714-bcc-tshirt-dngso.jpg
No one has lost a head or slain a dragon or staged a purple wedding. Not yet, anyway.
Francis Schmidt, a professor of arts and animation, posted a picture on Google+ of his daughter doing yoga in a shirt reading, "I will take what is mine in fire and blood," the tagline for the new season of the HBO show.
But a bloodless modern-day version of “Game of Thrones” may be afoot this semester at Bergen Community College, where a quote from the dark and wildly popular HBO TV fantasy series has ignited a bizarre controversy involving a teacher suspension and allegations of payback against the backdrop of a protracted labor dispute.
It began Jan. 12 when Francis Schmidt, an art and 3-D animation professor, shared a photograph on Google+ with his social media contacts: It was his 7-year-old daughter Sophia in a yoga pose wearing a T-shirt that read, “I will take what is mine with fire & blood.”
One of those contacts was a dean at the college. The next day, Schmidt said, he was called before college officials, who questioned him as to whether the photo represented a threat against the dean.
As “Game of Thrones” fans will tell you, the quote comes from a character named Daenerys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke) who uttered that line during the second season of the show, which is based on the writing of Bayonne-born fantasy writer George R.R. Martin.
Schmidt said the Human Resources and security officials who interviewed him seemed unfamiliar with the show, so he searched for the quote on Google and came up with 30.8 million hits.
He said the interview, however, led to his suspension without pay and a trip to a psychiatrist before he was cleared to return to campus.
Schmidt said he asked the officials why they thought the slogan was threatening, and one said “when you see the word fire, then someone shows up with an AK-47 here shooting everybody,” he said.
“I had no idea what to say to that. For God’s sake, I’m a middle-aged art professor,” Schmidt said. “I don’t own any firearms.”