My daughter is always on the lookout on behalf of her professor-mom for news stories about Hofstra. Today, I received an email from her about Hofstra that she found in today’s online version of the freebie daily people read on the subway, a.m.New York. In a special section entitled “Aim High,” the paper’s guide to choosing “the right college,” Hofstra is singled out on the cover with a huge headline that declares, “Hofstra: A Success Story in the NYC Area.” We learn about Hofstra’s ambition to raise its status from a fallback school to a first choice (it’s working) and its steady rise in the higher-ed hierarchy (a fact).
The PR people at Hofstra must be over the moon right now—or maybe even breaking out the champagne. I have a tip, however. For any parents considering letting their children attend Hofstra, DON’T LET THEM STUDY PAINTING! It’s dangerous! Scroll down to p. 16 of a.m.New York and you’ll see why. There you’ll find a sidebar on Missy Calderone, a very accomplished senior majoring in poli sci who, over her four years at Hofstra, has met with leading politicos and even attended the 2008 Democratic National Convention. She’s dined with Ed Rollins and chomped on bagels with Howard Dean—Hofstra’s current fellows at our Peter S. Kalikow Center for the Study of the American Presidency. She harbors career ambitions of becoming a constitutional lawyer. But — and here’s the terrible part — she is also quoted as saying, “Maybe I’ll live in a studio in Brooklyn and paint.” Eeek!
With a mixture of sheepishness and pride, I hereby admit to responsibility for some culpability for that terrible utterance. Missy Calderone was my student in my advanced painting course this past semester. Yep, ’twas I who deliberately nurtured her artistic desires and stoked her ambition by helping arrange an exhibition of her paintings at the main library. Doubtless, Missy is one smart poli sci major, but she has a weakness. Her talent, eagle eye, and love for paint are exploitable. If she finds an apartment with north light, look out. Goodbye marketable lawyer, hello bohemian dauber.
So, if you admistrators, state legislators, parents and corporations want to hold onto that highly trained, work-ready cadre of bright, imaginative students emerging from colleges and universities: Get rid of your painting departments now, or run the risk of losing the Missy Calderones to the world of art!
7 Responses to Painting Is a Danger to Students!
demery1 - January 8, 2010 at 9:24 am
Shame on you, Professor Fendrich.Perhaps the silver linging is that Missy was not attracted to classics, literature, theater, or instrumental music.
n2n_0131 - January 8, 2010 at 9:29 am
Attribution for comment 1 should be this user name!! Apologies.Indeed – and a few other departments may have to go as well if parents (and others) want their students prepared to march down the path of professional success versus following their passion. For the lucky few these paths merge, but for most it’s a choice and doing what you love takes a back seat.Signed,Administator whose creative side had to be set aside (but is still trying to break out!)
chacha526 - January 8, 2010 at 10:58 am
I am not a professor-just a helicopter mom who likes to read the CHE. When my children were 4 and 8 I took them to an exhibition of paintings of Mary Cassatt at the National Gallery and had them ride in a wheelchair-the former director of the National Gallery recommended that mode of looking at paintings in Self Portrait with Donors. A very nice gray haired lady came rushing up and, with great concern, warned me that she used to take her son to the art museum when he was little and, much to her husband’s chagrin, he became an artist instead of taking over the family business. My now 16 and 20 year old children show no signs of becoming an artist/art historian/art conservator much to my dismay so, the moral of the story is…kids rarely follow the paths that their parents want them to follow. I suspect we all have to relax and enjoy the ride.
robisonr - January 8, 2010 at 11:12 am
Momma, don’t let your babies grow up to be painters . . .
mayraou - January 8, 2010 at 11:17 am
I am a doctoral student, a full-time staff member at a university, and new wife…I recently discovered my need to have my creative side expressed through an outlet which I have yet to define…classes like yours remind us millenials that it’s not all about the money and that there is beauty and joy to seek outside of the professional lives we will have for MANY years to come. I am thankful for professors like you!
redpants - January 8, 2010 at 12:02 pm
I am a provost – and I love this article. I hope that my university is full of faculty members who teach, shape, and send their students – full of passion for life in whatever field they are drawn to. Love it!
johntoradze - January 8, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Wonderful! :-) I am reminded of a psychology article some years ago (was it 20? 30?or only 10 years?) that tracked students through about 20 years of career. It found that teens with sensitive souls often learned to compensate by becoming harsher than the norm. At the time I thought of Stalin who was a poet in his youth, a sensitive soul. Perhaps it is for the best.