A freshmen Frontiers of Science class at Columbia University got more than they had bargained for on Monday during what has to be one of the strangest lecture introductions ever captured on video. Physics professor Emlyn Hughes, who lists research at the Large Hadron Collider as his primary area of study, treated the unsuspecting first years to a display they're not likely to forget anytime soon.
The Columbia Spectator describes the scene as students entered the class as follows:
As students filed into the lecture hall, all of the lights were off, except for two spotlights on stage where Hughes was sitting. With Lil Wayne's 'Drop It Like It's Hot' playing in the background, Hughes stripped down to his underwear, then proceeded to change into a black T-shirt and pants. Afterwards, he sat down on the chair, hugging his knees in a fetal position.
Then, as a jumbled video that included footage of the planes crashing into the Twin Towers on 9/11 continued to play on the screen, two figures dressed in black came on stage with long swords. One of them proceeded to chop a stuffed animal in half on a stool.
When Hughes' presentation was over, he attempted to quell the nervous laughter with an explanation: 'In order to learn quantum mechanics, you have to strip to your raw, erase all the garbage from your brain and start over again.'
The Spectator quoted several students who were offended by the World War II and 9/11 imagery, including Maura Barry-Garland, who said. 'It was very disturbing, and I don't think anyone in the audience got what he was doing. He didn't explain it or provide a context, and that's why it was offensive to me and to other people.'
Whatever Professor Emlyn Hughes was trying to get across to his young students, thanks to one intrepid freshmen with an iPhone, far more people than those inside the classroom are now able to receive his message.
Watch video below, via BWOG:
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Lovely, I'm going to have to do this on every article that copied the quote used in the Spectator article instead of doing independent research or contacting anyone involved.
BalasHapusAnyway, I'm quoted above as saying, "He didn't explain it or provide a context, and that's why it was offensive to me and to other people.”
What I meant by that comment was that, though the images themselves weren't inappropriate, they were not appropriate in the context in which he presented them. When I was in elementary school and 9/11 occurred, my class was shown footage of the attacks. I believe that viewing those images helped us to understand the gravity of the situation, and I don't think powerful images should be repressed. However, Hughes was not using the images to help us empathize with victims of terrorist attacks. He was using them to make an awkward metaphor about quantum mechanics, to wake up the class, and to get himself more attention. I didn't feel that was an appropriate use of the footage, especially since many of the hundreds of students in the auditorium were personally affected by the 9/11 attacks.
It should also be noted that this is a core class, so none of the students present chose to enroll in this class and none of us are able to drop it.
It would be amazing if you could remove your "quotes" from me. Spectator paraphrased the statement I told the reporter originally and none of the writers who have subsequently copy-pasted my comments have bothered to contact me about it.
--Maura Barry-Garland