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N.J. college suspends professor over ‘Game of Thrones’ shirt perceived as ‘threat’
N.J. college suspends professor over ‘Game of Thrones’ shirt perceived as ‘threat’
Francis Schmidt posted a picture of his 7-year-old daughter wearing a shirt that quoted character Daenerys Targaryen, a key player in the hugely popular HBO show. But Bergen Community College officials took the well-known quote as a threatened school shooting and suspended the professor, he said.
BY SASHA GOLDSTEIN NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Friday, April 18, 2014, 5:08 PM A A A
Francis Schmidt was suspended from Bergen Community College over this 'Game of Thrones' quote on his 7-year-old daughter Sophia’s T-shirt. He called it ‘payback’ for a labor dispute with the college.
Francis Schmidt was suspended from Bergen Community College over this 'Game of Thrones' quote on his 7-year-old daughter Sophia’s T-shirt. He called it ‘payback’ for a labor dispute with the college.
When you play a game of thrones you win — or get suspended.
A picture posted online of a New Jersey professor’s young daughter sporting a “Game of Thrones†T-shirt got Francis Schmidt banished from the Bergen Community College campus for eight days without pay because school officials took the quote as a threat.
“I will take what is mine with fire and blood,†the shirt worn by smiling 7-year-old Sophia reads in a picture the art and animation professor took in January and shared with his Google+ contacts.
The line quotes the show’s star, Daenerys Targaryen, who promises to ascend the Iron Throne of Westeros using her three fire-breathing dragons.
Bergen Community College professor Francis Schmidt, who was suspended without pay for eight days after posting a photo of his daughter in a 'Game of Thrones' T-shirt.
School administrators took the word “fire†as a threatened school shooting, Schmidt said.
“When you see the word fire, then someone shows up with an AK-47 here shooting everybody,†an official told Schmidt of the perceived threat, the professor told the Bergen Record.
“I had no idea what to say to that. For God’s sake, I’m a middle-aged art professor,†Schmidt told the newspaper. “I don’t own any firearms.â€
Guns, for the record, have no place on “Game of Thrones,†the popular HBO show based on five books by George R.R. Martin.The most deadly characters in the Seven Kingdoms instead use swords, bows and arrows, poison, magic and yes, dragons.
“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,†school spokesman Larry Hlavenka told the Daily News in a statement.
Hlavenka referred to “34 incidents of school shootings†in the U.S. since the beginning of the year, but offered no evidence Schmidt posed such a threat.
“The referenced incident refers to a private personnel matter at Bergen Community College,†the statement reads.
Schmidt was reinstated following the January incident and received back pay, but first had to stay off campus for the eight days, visit a psychiatrist, promise to avoid wearing clothes “with questionable statements†and not make disparaging comments about the college, the Record reported.
N.J. college suspends professor over ‘Game of Thrones’ shirt perceived as ‘threat’
Francis Schmidt posted a picture of his 7-year-old daughter wearing a shirt that quoted character Daenerys Targaryen, a key player in the hugely popular HBO show. But Bergen Community College officials took the well-known quote as a threatened school shooting and suspended the professor, he said.
BY SASHA GOLDSTEIN NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Friday, April 18, 2014, 5:08 PM A A A
Francis Schmidt was suspended from Bergen Community College over this 'Game of Thrones' quote on his 7-year-old daughter Sophia’s T-shirt. He called it ‘payback’ for a labor dispute with the college.
Francis Schmidt was suspended from Bergen Community College over this 'Game of Thrones' quote on his 7-year-old daughter Sophia’s T-shirt. He called it ‘payback’ for a labor dispute with the college.
When you play a game of thrones you win — or get suspended.
A picture posted online of a New Jersey professor’s young daughter sporting a “Game of Thrones†T-shirt got Francis Schmidt banished from the Bergen Community College campus for eight days without pay because school officials took the quote as a threat.
“I will take what is mine with fire and blood,†the shirt worn by smiling 7-year-old Sophia reads in a picture the art and animation professor took in January and shared with his Google+ contacts.
The line quotes the show’s star, Daenerys Targaryen, who promises to ascend the Iron Throne of Westeros using her three fire-breathing dragons.
Bergen Community College professor Francis Schmidt, who was suspended without pay for eight days after posting a photo of his daughter in a 'Game of Thrones' T-shirt.
School administrators took the word “fire†as a threatened school shooting, Schmidt said.
“When you see the word fire, then someone shows up with an AK-47 here shooting everybody,†an official told Schmidt of the perceived threat, the professor told the Bergen Record.
“I had no idea what to say to that. For God’s sake, I’m a middle-aged art professor,†Schmidt told the newspaper. “I don’t own any firearms.â€
Guns, for the record, have no place on “Game of Thrones,†the popular HBO show based on five books by George R.R. Martin.The most deadly characters in the Seven Kingdoms instead use swords, bows and arrows, poison, magic and yes, dragons.
“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,†school spokesman Larry Hlavenka told the Daily News in a statement.
Hlavenka referred to “34 incidents of school shootings†in the U.S. since the beginning of the year, but offered no evidence Schmidt posed such a threat.
“The referenced incident refers to a private personnel matter at Bergen Community College,†the statement reads.
Schmidt was reinstated following the January incident and received back pay, but first had to stay off campus for the eight days, visit a psychiatrist, promise to avoid wearing clothes “with questionable statements†and not make disparaging comments about the college, the Record reported.
When I want to threaten somebody, I always go to customink.com to have the threat printed on a shirt. Then, I wait two weeks for the shirt to be delivered. When it arrives, I have a child put the shirt on, and post a photo of them online.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nati...#ixzz2zKsjXh4R
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