1. It's true that there is no magic outfit that will make your audience, or people in general, respect
you.
2. But am I the only one who thinks you should wear clothes--some kind of clothes--when you're doing a thesis presentation? If you can't shop in a grocery store or be served in a restaurant without shirt and shoes, why should you be allowed to present the capstone of four years of college work in your underwear?
3. Would the professor have been justified in failing the student? If I were the professor, I would have been sorely tempted.
4. The need to wear clothes while in public is one of the frequently recurring subjects parents have to address with two-year-olds.
Cheers,
Uggy
I agree, Uggy. This struck me as quite the wrong hill upon which to die.
ReplyDeleteOne of the commenters to the original article summed it up nicely: What do you want your listeners to remember, the content of your presentation or the color of your underwear? If a college senior hasn't managed to learn at least that from a public-speaking course, maybe she *should* fail the course. Self-expression has its place, but I'm with Frankie: definitely the wrong hill.
ReplyDeleteI have mixed thoughts on this.
ReplyDeleteOn the plus side, she’s a lot better than the bacon jalapeño mac guy, or that lawyer with an issue about people speaking Spanish. She also stood up to an instructor and presented as she did, both of which takes guts.
Having said that, she must have known that this will be on the net forever & the repercussions of that are hard to foresee. I suppose there are some career choices where this will be a positive thing for her, but certainly not in many fields.
As a male instructor, I never comment on what my female students wear…however, students at my joint would be unlikely to turn up underdressed even for a normal class, let alone for an important presentation.
I’m pretty sure we have some programs where there are specified standards, and failing to meet them does have consequences regarding grades and credit.
After reading this, I had to go back and re-read the obituary on common sense's passing. The point she made may not be the point she intended to make.
ReplyDeleteNever criticize a punk rocker's attire or hair, since they absolutely love it.
ReplyDelete