Friendly reminder that comments are welcome, but please don't link to other sites in your text unless it's to your personal (social network) page or relevant to the post. Thank you!

Friday, February 17, 2012

Creatively cut!

I love when people can't take creative licence anymore.

I was reading a 
 /
 article, (also here) as usual, and it just got me thinking. If someone takes a Creative Writing course, why is this guy in hot water? He followed directions, always asked questions, and was creatively using his words. The basis of the article is a gentleman was in a class where he, for his own use in the course, updated Van Halen's Hot For Teacher song. He based it on his professor, as the song dictates. He didn't belittle her. Instead, he made her out to be respectable. It was his first impressions of the  woman, and he thought it was in sound mind. What he didn't think of, was the fact that he'd get kicked off campus. Unfortunately, the professor thought that this "sexually suggestive journal entry" was too sexual in nature. Like I said, and like the article states: the man repeatedly asked, in class and out of class, these assignments can be free form and they won't get into trouble from it. The teacher said they can be as uncensored as the student wants it to be. So, write on, students! But that got the guy in trouble. He now has been "charged with sexual harassment and intimidation."

That's bullshit. I remember my creative writing class in college. We all get the same type of understanding and assignments - you have a daily journal, you write in it. It's uncensored and uninhibited. There are no feelings of being turned in for what you write because these are your thoughts. The teacher reads the writings and gives feedback, positive or negative, and you go from there. How do you think I originally started this blog? Some of the old timers may remember the story I was posting back in 2006. That was an assignment from my CW class. I've got stories upon essays upon journal writings from that semester. So by hindering some one's thoughts, you're turning into Big Brother and you're making an asshole of yourself and what you're doing, because it's as if you're retracting what you're saying. Maybe colleges / universities all across the country need to re-evaluate the creative writing course(s) they offer in their English departments and tone down the curriculum. Either that, or get rid of the class all together, if it's going to spawn allegations.

Cheers,