Putting the fucksaw to bed

The most entertaining (and irrelevant) image to come up when Googling "fucksaw."

The best piece to come out of this fucksaw ordeal was published today in The Awl, written by a former student of Professor Bailey's. Beyond putting this whole stupid thing in perspective, author Joseph Bernstein illustrates why Professor Bailey is to be commended instead of punished.

In fact, my gut reaction to this controversy was to support the professor's decision -- in the name of openness and honesty, in the pursuit of learning -- and now I've pinpointed why: Professor Bailey engages with both his students and the material. He seems to value discovery, no matter the auxiliary (and less important) costs. I loved my time at Northwestern but I realized after I graduated that I spent a lot of time only half-listening, and therefore half-learning. I don't blame anyone -- myself, my professors -- but it's sad to realize that I may have lost opportunities to really transform myself. Graduate school has been a wake-up call in that regard, as I'm sure my increasingly impassioned posts on education in this forum have indicated.

Also, President Schapiro (that's Morty to you) released a nice statement today that happened to mention NUMBALUM President Samir Mayekar. And so this strange circuit, an unholy alliance of Human Sexuality and NUMB, comes full circle, and with a happy ending. (Guffaw.)

Now let's see how long it takes for "fucksaw" to get old. I'm putting my money on retirement around the same time as #tigerblood. At least, let's hope.

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UPDATE, March 8, 9:16 a.m. - Can't resist one final word from a sex journalist who interviewed the guest speakers at the center of the controversy.

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UPDATE, March 8, 1:52 p.m. - I mean. I just. I don't know.

Band camp jokes never anticipated this

What a lovely, wholesome photo!

This blog is called Context, and I chose that name deliberately. I think the key to writing, and therefore learning, is understanding the context of a situation. Often misjudgments, misunderstandings and mistakes can be attributed to a lack of contextual consideration.

This week's Northwestern "fucksaw" story is about as good an example as I can conjure.

The background: A much-loved but incredibly controversial large lecture class, Human Sexuality, draws students from all areas of Northwestern because of its promise of titillation mixed with education. It's one of the most candid forums on campus, and the class is intended to provide an environment for discussing even the most taboo sexual topics, from fetishes to the mechanics of an orgasm. I had friends that would discuss the material outside of class, and there was valid educational benefit in the many shocking in-class experiences. (And a lot of snickering.)

On Tuesday the Daily Northwestern reported that a few people were taken aback at a recent live demonstration of a female orgasm in an optional, after-class session. In the process of a Q&A, a guest speaker asked the professor if she might demonstrate, live and in full view, female ejaculation. The professor gave permission, the students were treated to an eyeful, and a woman got off. Other such sessions have featured Q&A's with sex workers and convicted sex offenders, and minutes prior the class watched a graphic video taken of the inside of a woman's vagina. So in context, the spectacle wasn't exactly out of left field.

The Daily's story was picked up by the national press -- notably Gawker (complete with follow-up) -- and the story spread like wildfire, quickly distorting into a story about how "a college professor in Chicago* brought in a woman to masturbate in front of his class." People are up in arms, and the story has made every major news outlet -- MSNBC, Fox News, HuffPo, even the AFP wires.

Hang on. Did you click that last one? Go ahead, I'll wait.

Riddle me this: What the fuck is a picture of the marching band doing next to a story about a sexually charged psychology class?

I can only guess that someone in the AFP wire office was looking for a file photo, and instead of going with a saw of some sort (as favored by Fox & HuffPo, among others) or, I don't know, a headshot of Professor Bailey, they chose a symbol of the university -- the Northwestern University Marching Band, to be precise -- and made a lame attempt at relevancy by citing a "live show" experience. The story with the associated NUMB picture has made it into a few nationwide stories, even reaching across the pond. (Note: It made me really, really happy to not find mention of this story on either CNN or the BBC.)

Now, this probably doesn't bother most people, but as both a journalist and the VP-Publicity for the NUMBALUMS (the alumni club for the marching band), I can't help but feel frustrated. It's twofold: Not only does this represent shoddy, slap-it-together visual reporting, but the story itself has been treated as sensation instead of opening up a genuine dialogue about acceptability in classrooms and the value of experiential education. Maybe I'm being snobby or idealistic, but it'd be nice if my coworkers and even my doctor didn't greet me with a "What the hell is going on at Northwestern??" this morning. People see "sex in a classroom" and immediately (and it's to be expected, I suppose) don't bother to get much further into the story. They don't bother with the context because sex and vilification are more fun. I thought Professor Bailey's letter to the Daily was eloquent and stated his position well. That's the debate I'd like to have.

But all anyone can talk about is the fucksaw.

(By the way, did you know that there's a grindcore band called Fucksaw? Their song titles are delightfully themed. Thanks a million, Google search.)

* And despite our campaign to become "Chicago's Big Ten team," this is still incorrect.

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UPDATE, 4:58 p.m. - Not so much of an update as an "I should have mentioned" that Professor Bailey received "uniformly positive" feedback from the 100 students (out of the 600-person class) present for the demonstration. Morty, on the other hand, seems to be retracting yesterday's statement that the university stands firmly behind Professor Bailey's actions. It doesn't take a conspiracy theorist to guess he's getting pressure from donors. Stay strong, Morty! Also welcome to the party, WSJ.

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UPDATE, March 4, 1:51 p.m. - We made it on the BBC. Best write-up I've seen, actually.

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UPDATE, March 7, 11:30 a.m. - Read it here.

'Cats are 4-0!

I had a short and late post this week over at LTP. Check it out here.

Feeling really good about my 'Cats this year. (I mean, I always feel good about my 'Cats, but it's an extra special good feeling right now.) I've been saving up already in anticipation of a post-season bowl game; last year's trip to the Outback was absolutely phenomenal, save the last 3 seconds of the game. Still, what a game, and you could almost see the college football scene start to take notice of the program at that moment. At this point we're just hoping Fitz is here for the long haul.

Next week is Minnesota, and I want to win as much as ever, especially because I want to bring back the "5 and 0" high-five from my senior year. So awesome. Go 'Cats!

Business as Usual

Goofs.

As usual, I rounded off my week -- which included donating blood and NOT fainting, finding out my car is broken and I have to pay for it DESPITE having a warranty (curse you, Sierra Auto), boring things like eye exams and grocery runs, and completely and utterly freaking out re: grad school before realizing it wasn't as bad as I thought -- by talking about NUMB over at Lake the Posts.* Check it out, and have a great weekend!

* How's that for a complex sentence, Professor Mulderig?

It's BAND CAMP

My weekly NUMB post over at Lake the Posts, the venerated Northwestern football blog, was posted today. How many times can I say "post" in a sentence and still have it be legitimate?

Link it up.

Validation!

I am filled with the warm glow of achievement. Granted, that's an unfamiliar emotion for a Monday morning, but I found out over the weekend that an article I wrote while at PC Magazine in 2008 was cited in an academic paper published by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, which appears to have some association with the United Nations. I know, random.

Both my article and the IRBC paper dealt with the virtual firewall the People's Republic of China has set up to regulate Internet use within its borders. The citation probably doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things, but it's super cool for me. At least it seems to indicate that someone read that article. Yay!

Just for giggles and page views, here are some of the other things I wrote while at PC Mag. Eventually I'll have a personal website with a full archive of all my stuff, so consider this a teaser.

10 Futuristic Movie Gadgets Become Reality - This was the first thing I wrote for PC Mag, and it got more than a million hits in just a few days. I joked for the rest of my time there that I peaked in week two.

Laptops for College Grads - This was picked up by the New York, Boston and Philly equivalent of the Chicago Tribune's RedEye (ie, the free paper passed out on the subway). Excitement!

Beyond Guitar Hero - The research for this one was fun. I really want to try the FretLight.

Take Your Tech to the Beach - I think this was the only article I wrote that appeared in the print magazine.

Laptop Orchestra Makes (Sound) Waves - Another fun one to research. I even got press passes to the performance at Carnegie Hall.

Employee Monitoring: It's Not Paranoia - You Really Are Being Watched! - Just to creep you out.

Your Complete Father's Day Gift Guide - Graphic-tastic.

Solio Hybrid 1000 - The one review I wrote.

In other news, today marks my return to Lake the Posts as the official NUMB blogger. My first post of the 2010 season will be up later today; I'll be sure to include a link here.

UPDATE, 4:28 pm: My post went up over at LTP! Check it out here.

FoOtBaLl SeAsOn!!!!!1!!!go'cats!!!

Being a Northwestern fan is emotionally exhausting. I learned early on to shut off the football part of my brain after bowl game season. It lies dormant throughout winter and spring, perhaps with a blip at the spring football game. Summer has never been a problem, since it's usually busy and exciting. But then one day you wake up and realize... It's August. Which means it's officially time to get excited about football. A couple days ago I ordered 34 tickets to the season opener at Vanderbilt. My thirty-three best friends and I will be road-tripping down to Nashville for the game, and I'm excited to the point of jumping up and down and writing a new number one single which I will lovingly entitle "All the Ways I Would Die for Coach Fitz." (There are probably about 48 of them. Maybe one more.)

I'll continue working with the NUMBALUMS to plan events, blogging about NUMB for LTP, and just generally being an all-around, purple-clad nutjob for the next few months. This is gonna be fun.

Northwestern's 2010 season-

9/4/10	@ Vanderbilt	attending (road trip CONFIRMED)
09/11/10	Illinois State	attending
9/18/10	@Rice	maybe attending (Evan?)
09/25/10	Central Michigan	attending
10/2/10	@ Minnesota	attending (road trip plans TK)
10/9/10	Purdue	attending (night game!! ah!!!)
10/16/10	BYE	and on the seventh week, Fitz rested.
10/23/10	Michigan State	HOMECOMING OMGDIFJMIV! (attending)
10/30/10	@Indiana	attending, and organizing a NUMBALUM tailgate
11/06/10	@ Penn State	attending, or Bethany will kill me
11/13/10	Iowa	attending
11/20/10	Illinois	attending at Wrigley (and likely hosting a pregame)
11/27/10	@Wisconsin	TBD, but it'd suck to break a perfect record

TBD BOWL GAME		attending