I have to say I'm not even slightly surprised that you encountered this. It is a shame, but that's what a lot of guys that age are like. Homophobia is still rife even beyond college/Uni in the world of work. As far as I'm concerned it shows a lack of education. However, it is also peer driven. Many of those guys alone may not have had the same reaction, or at least, not shown it openly. Report them, the sooner they learn that is not appropriate behaviour, the better for everyone.
I'm guessing as the models were booked you couldn't switch to another subject? I share the view of a couple of other posters in that I have quite low expectations of people, especially guys of that age and would have either tried to leave that subject for the regular teacher to cover or set strict ground rules prior to the lesson.
Why was the regular teacher away? Sudden illness brought on when they realised it was the nudes class?
I would have painted the male model, although I really am better at windmills. Was he cute and single?
Edit: Damn, I'm slow at posting. Well "family emergency" sounds a lot like "I don't want to face this class"
Eventru2009-02-08 03:14:01
My freshman year of college, I had a professor by the name of Lovejoy, and she taught european civilization. She was the sort of woman who, if you missed a day of class, she would simply make a note in her book and, at the end of the semester, automatically fail you, never saying a word.
One day she was lecturing on the nature of sexuality in classical greece, such as the Athenian pederasty and the Spartan military lovers, and the Sacred Band of Thebes.
We had one girl who became very upset at this, and the notion that Alexander the Great was a homosexual, and said something - Professor Lovejoy, not being one to be interrupted, ignored her completely, and kept speaking. The girl, again, spoke up a few minutes later. A few of us gave her nasty looks, and she subsided. When the professor spoke about the Sacred Band of Thebes and said that Phillip of Macedonia proclaimed over the battlefield, 'Let any man perish the thought that these men did anything unseemly'. She made some remark about religion and homosexuality, and Professor Lovejoy closed her book, and dismissed the class for the day.
The next week, I was sitting in the front row (having been five minutes early, which was hideously late for the average student, considering the cost of being 5 minutes late was a high risk of failing the class). Lovejoy walked in, walked over to the girl, and asked to speak with her in the hall. The girl acquiesced, and they walked to the door. The professor opened the door for the girl, who walked out, and spun around wide-eyed when Lovejoy slammed the door behind her, and locked it. She promptly walked over to the girl's desk, grabbed her books and bag, and dropped it out the window, after ensuring the girl did not have a laptop with her.
The professor turned around, walked up to her lectern, smiled, and asked if anyone wished to leave the class as well.
It promptly brought an end to that behaviour.
Anyways. My point is, however. Making a very brutal example of one of them is a very sufficient method of dealing with people their age.
Kante2009-02-08 03:17:18
It's also a HILARIOUS way to deal with them, in my opinion.
That is quite sad. I had hoped one needs to reach a certain level of maturity before being admitted in an University.
HAhahahahahahaa. Wait till I am there.
Shiri2009-02-08 03:20:46
All the people making silly generalisations about 18-ish young men are taking the easy way out. None of that BS would have happened with any of the philosophy/psychology students I know from tutorials and plenty of them are my age.
Also neglects the fact that women at that age are no more or less mature than men, though when they are immature they tend to display it in slightly different ways.
EDIT: And I don't think it's the case that philosophy/psychology students are more mature than arts students either, any more than scientists are "smarter" than builders and so on.
Noola2009-02-08 03:25:00
None of my teachers ever did anything that drastic, but I had a few teachers who would kick students out if they were disruptive, my art teachers especially. And locking the door once class started so late students couldn't come in was something English Comp teacher did every day. The school had an attendance policy, you see, and if you missed a certain number of days, you were auto-dropped from the class.
All the people making silly generalisations about 18-ish young men are taking the easy way out. None of that BS would have happened with any of the philosophy/psychology students I know from tutorials and plenty of them are my age.
Also neglects the fact that women at that age are no more or less mature than men, though when they are immature they tend to display it in slightly different ways.
EDIT: And I don't think it's the case that philosophy/psychology students are more mature than arts students either, any more than scientists are "smarter" than builders and so on.
Shhh, let them keep on believing that they are far better than anyone else in their agegroup and that men just barely started to walk upright.
Shaddus2009-02-08 03:46:25
No offense, but I think Prof. Lovejoy needed a good... well, you know. She needed to loosen up, I mean, geez.
So, I substituted for a life drawings class because they couldn't find anyone on such a short notice. We had several very attractive models come in and pose. I believe this was the first nude drawing class they had thus far. The "boys" (I refuse to acknowledge them as mature men) were whooping and giggling when our female models came in, took their robes off and posed. You could literally see the testosterone just shoot through the roof.
However, when the men came in, disrobed, and posed, they were adamant about not drawing them. Comments such as, "Dude, I'm not drawing his balls!", "That's gay. I ain't gay.", and "Only Fa****s draw men naked" were commonly heard. I told the guys that if they didn't want to learn how to draw both men and women, then they should probably reconsider their majors. They were getting so rude to the point that I was feeling a little disgusted.
Honestly, this was just a horrible display of complete idiocy. I even mentioned to them that the fine arts BEGAN with nudes. I showed them slides of the greek temples, greek funeral motifs, the italian renaissance paintings and sculptures to push this point home. They (the men) said it was different if they were drawing it from a picture or a statue.
And for everyone else, help shed some light on this. I'm not a Fine Arts major, but wow. My faith in the male species (those in their younger years) just stuck a whole new level of utter disappointment.
It got to the point that I said draw or I will give you a 0.0 for today.
I don't even know how to respond to this. Is this common? I didn't think so, but upon seeing this group of reactions, I am beginning to believe so.
So men, would you draw another naked man before you and actually give it your best? Or would you be too uncomfortable in the fact that you could see, as one of the students put it, "his junk".
And for everyone else, shed some light on this for me. This is at Michigan State University, by the way. We aren't a technical college nor are we a community college. We are a university. What happened? Why did it happen? My view of the male species (especially those in their younger years) just hit a whole new level of utter disappointment.
If I were you, I would have kicked them out of the class and gave them the 0.0 and told them not to come back until they had learned some manners and how to appreciate artwork.
And then I would ban them from looking at the naked ladies by sending them out of the room when they appeared.
Narsrim: I don't know. I don't belong to the Humanities department. My department is on the total other side of the campus. I forwarded my report of the class to the instructor and to the Dean. In my department, its basic. Do your work, be respectful, et etc.. If you don't, then you're out. I would think that each department, though separately ruled, adheres to the same student conduct and requirements that all freshmen get at their freshmen orientation. Then again, my department's Dean adds on a few extra rules and whatnot because we have explosive chemicals and corrosive chemicals that could potentially harm someone if they're being foolish. So to answer the question, I don't know.
Well,
This is something that comes up quite often is educational administration: what is professionalism what do we expect, how will we educate our students to be aware of it, and how will we enforce it? It's the responsibility of an institution to educate its students on proper behavior. Failure to do so will ultimately lead to situations where inappropriate behavior emerges.
Likewise, I must say that I find your initial post to be shocking. I mean no offense, but you sound very sheltered. I likewise contend there plenty of examples of wretched female behavior at Michigan State University that might equalize your disdain from males to just people in general. A friend of mine has some pretty horrific sorority stories that certainly make my stomach turn!
Unknown2009-02-08 05:40:02
I didn't mind the whooping and giggling so much, really. I remember being that age, being that fresh from high school, and still having the "high school mentality". The class was a basic prereq. class as well. The thing that shocked me, though, was the complete blatant disregard of the models and their feelings, as well as maturity level. We have something called Freshman Orientation that every single freshman, no matter what their major is, has to go through. One of the things is "Maturity". It is an actual two hour class that the students must take before they are allowed to even enter into a classroom and/or dorm.
Not to mention, now that I actually read the description of the class, it even mentions that there are nude drawings involved, starting the third week into the semester. I just don't understand where this behavior came from, besides the basic desire to appear "macho" or "manly".
Eventru: I did something similar to that in my class once. A student was playing with some harsh chemicals and just throwing the beaker from hand to hand. I called him in front the class and asked him to present the chemical so everyone could see it. I then asked the students to identify the chemical. When no one could, I took out a piece metal from our resources drawer and asked the student to pour it on the metal. It started to make the metal turn a bright neon red and then caused it to react the same way battery acid does when you apply it to human flesh. The student looked at me, horrified, when I said, "If you don't treat my lab equipment with more respect, you will find out just how uncomfortable that chemical is to the skin if you continue to act like an imbecile. Do I make myself clear?"
Eventru: I did something similar to that in my class once. A student was playing with some harsh chemicals and just throwing the beaker from hand to hand. I called him in front the class and asked him to present the chemical so everyone could see it. I then asked the students to identify the chemical. When no one could, I took out a piece metal from our resources drawer and asked the student to pour it on the metal. It started to make the metal turn a bright neon red and then caused it to react the same way battery acid does when you apply it to human flesh. The student looked at me, horrified, when I said, "If you don't treat my lab equipment with more respect, you will find out just how uncomfortable that chemical is to the skin if you continue to act like an imbecile. Do I make myself clear?"
Nonononono.
"This is what happens when it touches metal. I assure you, what it does to human flesh is far more disturbing. And I believe if the metal had a mouth, it's wails of agony would rend your heart. Imagine what you'd sound like. You are playing with chemicals which can end your life simply by inhaling them. Treat them like a loaded gun that's always pointed at you or by the Gods of Chemistry, I will make an example of you!" Make it clear that you would pour the chemical on him too.
Edit: This is how I would do it.
"As you can tell, the chemical is eating away metal. Do you see how hot and melted this metal is? I assure you, what it would do to your flesh and the inherent damages to your muscles, nerves, and bone would be far more amusing for me to watch because it's your own damn fault. Trust me, if the metal could speak, it's cries of pain would naught be heard by humans, but by dogs who could hear it's high pitched wails. I can only imagine the sound you'd make, nancy boy. These chemicals in your hands are not rounded for your safety. If you act like a moron, you will get cut. Some of these chemicals will poison the very air your breath and kill you with a few simple whiffs. If, in your chincanary, you happen to spill this on you, I will not only laugh, I will take the time to point out what is happening to your body as the chemicals eat away your flesh. And only when the chemicals stop will you be allowed to go to the nurse's office. I will not allow a perfect chance to teach intelligent students what happens when they decide to be morons for a moment slip by."
Saaga2009-02-08 13:47:27
QUOTE
That is quite sad. I had hoped one needs to reach a certain level of maturity before being admitted in an University.
Quoting myself. I am very glad that I don't need to deal with such things. The behaviour Marina described is very typical among junior high - sometimes even senior high boys here (from where they usually drop out if they continue that kind of behaviour past the first year as our senior high school is not compulsory though so everyone is expected to behave,) but goodness gracious, not University. The kids are nineteen when they finish their high school, and it is common enough that they don't get into the Uni before the age of 20-25, depending on what they wish to study. Perhaps this explains why I thought University students to have gathered a modicum of common sense and matured a bit.
Was it a compulsory class for everyone, or some compulsory class for art students only?
Unknown2009-02-08 17:14:49
Saaga: It's a pre-requisite class and a humanities class. All students who want entry into the college of fine arts have to take it. Students can also take it as a filler, since it is only a 100's level class i.e., freshman class.
All the people making silly generalisations about 18-ish young men are taking the easy way out. None of that BS would have happened with any of the philosophy/psychology students I know from tutorials and plenty of them are my age.
True enough: the whole idea of guys our age being stump-dumb jocks is a cliche. But there is a certain kind of guy of that age who seems to think it's their duty to live up to the stereotype. While you or I might not act like that it's a sad truth that many do, and I'm sure Marina wasn't intending to generalise every 18-23-ish male in that bracket.
And nor was I, considering I'm 19. Aheh.
Diamondais2009-02-08 19:06:54
Those hardass profs are amazing.
I guess I've been a bit lucky here, I haven't dealt with too many immature guys here, even when it was the first couple months and I was spending most of my time with the 17-20 year olds instead of the 21+ people with the occasional 20- girls. Sucks that that happens though.
Daganev2009-02-08 22:14:09
at my school all our models were fairly plain if not ugly looking. They found people with some of the most interseting scars in the worst of places.
Saaga: It's a pre-requisite class and a humanities class. All students who want entry into the college of fine arts have to take it. Students can also take it as a filler, since it is only a 100's level class i.e., freshman class.
oh, thats probablby part of the problem there. At my school you only drew nudes once you had allready passed two other drawing courses, so you only had serious art students in the class.
Noola2009-02-08 22:39:56
Yeah, that school's kinda weird letting just anyone take a class like that, now that you mention it.
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The school had an attendance policy, you see, and if you missed a certain number of days, you were auto-dropped from the class. 
