with reference to the previous post on SMU topless
student..........
Update at April 5, 3.14pm:
A SMU student has written in to clarify that her group had been
given permission for their classmate to go topless in their class
presentation, which was about an Abercrombie and Fitch (A&F)
advertising controversy.
"I am writing in on behalf of my presentation group.
"The guy in the picture is a member of our group and this
presentation was done in our Business, Government and Society
module in SMU.
"The topic that we were presenting on is the Abercrombie and
Fitch (A&F) controversy, regarding a poster of a half naked man
displayed on the streets of Somerset Road which gathered much
controversy in Singapore.
"The only reason we felt that it was appropriate for us to have
that segment in our presentation is because we wanted to garner the
response of our classmates to measure whether it really was
unacceptable from their point of view.
"Contrary to the response that some Singaporeans gave to the
A&F poster, our classmates enjoyed it and it made the whole
presentation much more interactive.
"It should be noted that all this was done with a goal in mind -
to portray the topic we had in the most engaging and accurate way
possible. We had also consulted the professor weeks beforehand and
only proceeded when he gave permission for us to do so.
"Also, that segment of our presentation lasted for only about 5
out of the entire 45 minutes of our presentation, after which my
group mate changed into formal attire.
"Furthermore, we felt that it was not too inappropriate because
it was done in the confines of the seminar room. Besides, there are
pageants, not only in SMU but other universities as well, where
male models strut around wearing less than this.
"It is unfortunate that one of our classmates had taken a
picture and posted it online. On hindsight, we recognize that we
could have made a disclaimer beforehand to request for pictures not
to be taken."
