Game of Thrones T-Shirt Leads To Suspension Of College Professor

Andy Chalk

One Flag, One Fleet, One Cat
Nov 12, 2002
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Game of Thrones T-Shirt Leads To Suspension Of College Professor


A Daenerys Targaryen quote printed on a t-shirt was interpreted as a threat against the dean of Bergen Community College.

Back in January, Professor Francis Schmidt of Bergen Community College posted a photo of his daughter in a yoga pose, wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with the message, "I will take what is mine with fire & blood." It's a well-known quote from Daenerys Targaryen, one of the central characters in Game of Thrones - a show that officials at the college apparently don't watch.

The day after he posted the picture, Schmidt was called on the carpet and asked whether it was intended as a threat against the dean. Officials at the college may have been a little extra-twitchy because Schmidt had filed a grievance about two months prior over a denied request for sabbatical, but even after he explained the quote (and dug up millions of hits detailing its origins on Google), he was suspended without pay and forced to see a psychiatrist before he could be cleared to return to work.

Schmidt said one official told him that "when you see the word 'fire,' then someone shows up with an AK-47 here shooting everybody" as a not-terribly-coherent explanation for his suspension, and the college defended it as standard procedure. "Since Jan 1, 2014, 34 incidents of school shootings have occurred in the United States," spokesman Larry Hlavenka told NorthJersey.com. "In following its safety and security procedures, the college investigates all situations where a member of its community - students, faculty, staff or local residents - expresses a safety or security concern."

In the end, Schmidt was reinstated with back pay after an eight-day suspension, although he must comply with some conditions, including not wearing clothing with "questionable statements." Posting pictures of his daughter wearing such things probably isn't a great idea either.

Source: NorthJersey.com [http://www.northjersey.com/news/bergen-community-college-professor-suspended-over-game-of-thrones-quote-on-daughter-s-t-shirt-1.998396]


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rosac

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Sep 13, 2008
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"Quick, we need a reason to sack this guy!"

"He's wearing a shirt with the word "fire" on it, let's appeal to memories of high school massacres and get him sacked"

"What could possibly go wrong?"

This is amazingly stupid. Like reallllly stupid.
 

Symbio Joe

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Dec 7, 2010
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It is sad that it did not happen to a Senator, think of all the taxmoney that could've been saved :p.
 

JaceArveduin

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Mar 14, 2011
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rosac said:
"Quick, we need a reason to sack this guy!"

"He's wearing a shirt with the word "fire" on it, let's appeal to memories of high school massacres and get him sacked"

"What could possibly go wrong?"

This is amazingly stupid. Like reallllly stupid.
I... I don't even know how to add to this. It's like firing someone who's wearing a shirt saying, "The time of Men is over, the time of the Orc has come."

At least, I'm fairly sure I remember that being the quote, it's been awhile.
 

deth2munkies

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Jan 28, 2009
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rosac said:
"Quick, we need a reason to sack this guy!"

"He's wearing a shirt with the word "fire" on it, let's appeal to memories of high school massacres and get him sacked"

"What could possibly go wrong?"

This is amazingly stupid. Like reallllly stupid.
No wait, man, it says blood too. That changes EVERYTHING!
 

Zhukov

The Laughing Arsehole
Dec 29, 2009
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When I read the article title I thought the T-Shirt in question was going to be printed with a list of everyone who dies.
 

Jandau

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Dec 19, 2008
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Well, to be fair, he was reinstated and didn't really suffer any consequences. It might seem like a hilarious overreaction, but if the number of school shootings in the US this year listed in the article is anywhere near correct, I can kinda understand educational institutions being a bit "trigger happy" (pardon the pun) when it comes to potential trouble. What I'd like to know is why the hell are people shooting each other in US schools so much? As far as I know this is pretty much endemic to the US, at least as far as first world countries go...
 

Grimh

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Feb 11, 2009
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To be fair, a harmless little girls are the most threatening thing I can imagine...
When I want to inspire fear in the very heart my enemies I ask my niece to run at them wearing a T-shirt with a picture of the grim reaper. They especially get the point when she goes "RAAWR! I'mma get'cha!"

I can understand being called in maybe, but after the whole thing had been explained that should have been the end of it.
There is being overly cautious and then there is downright paranoia.
 

Sigmund Av Volsung

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Dec 11, 2009
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I imagine that the school board would freak out if a student said that "there are many causes that I would die for, but none that I would kill for".

They would think that person is a suicide bomber by the end of the sentence.

I mean, christ, there's twitchy, then there's this.
 

Ninmecu

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May 31, 2011
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*slow clap* I'm, I'm amazed. I'd hope he at least got recompensed for their stupidity. Being put on suspension for something like that is over zealous, sure school shootings and all that are something to be concerned over, but wouldn't something like this, y'know, push him to do it even more if that were his intention?
 

Johnson McGee

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Nov 16, 2009
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So, does the dean spend his spare time going around the school painting over the 'fire' on the fire alarms and replacing it with 'combustion'?
 

the doom cannon

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Jun 28, 2012
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Spot1990 said:
Ok I do hate oversensitive nonsense but 34 school shootings? Is that true? Because if it is I'd assume everyone was trying to kill me too if I lived in the US.
Wikipedia is probably where they got the number. Read the clarification text at the top of the page though
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_school_shootings_in_the_United_States
 

Ferisar

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Oct 2, 2010
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Middle_Index said:
"To be, or not to be, that is the question"

SUSPENDED!!!!
"Wherefore art thou Romeo?"

Meanwhile, in the Romeo residence
"We need to cook more meth."
"Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.
... *****."

Possession and intent to distribute.

OT:
This is stupid.

That's really all it is. Overreacting to something harmless whilst probably feeling accomplished. Woo-freakin-hoo.
 

SKBPinkie

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Oct 6, 2013
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I... How do people who're this idiotic manage to function?

Seriously, what the fuck is the matter with these morons?
 

Exterminas

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Sep 22, 2009
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He should be happy the T-Shirt didn't say "God is dead", because otherwise they would have burned him at the stake.
 

Xeorm

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Apr 13, 2010
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Mcoffey said:
What? 34 shootings in four months? Can I see a source for that? Either way, this seems blown out of proportion a bit, but I understand that Universities and school settings in general really can't do nothing when potentially not doing nothing means someone dies.
It includes shootings that occur anywhere near students, and so includes any sort of gang violence within cities that happens to occur and can be recorded as close to a school. It's not 34 cases of mass-shootings against schools or anything.