Pharrell’s going to be NYU’s Artist-in-Residence: Does that matter?
Do celebrities add anything at all to students’ experiences?
Our neighbors in lower Manhattan just announced that superstar Pharrell Williams will be their 2015 Artist-in-Residence.
The excitement generated by a celebrity’s future-arrival on a campus can’t be understated — as of this writing the news alone is trending on Facebook.
But do celebrities add anything to the culture of the school? Do they make a student’s days on campus any better at all?
Professor Pharrell?
23-year-old English major Steven Schaedler said: “I don’t think it should make any difference on the teaching.
“It looks more like a publicity stunt than anything.
“And colleges are a business so it makes sense.”
More optimistic Ambrose Wilkinson, 22 and also an English major, expressed a different perspective.
He said: “Having people like that interests students because of the atmosphere.
“At the same time these teachers can have something interesting and fresh to bring to the table since they are in the center of it all.”
Ambrose Wilkinson
Ambrose and Steven seem to take for granted that “celebrity” refers exclusively to those globally famous for something having to do with the arts, be it music, film, television or some other mainstream craft.
What about celebrity Physicists, Philosophers or Political theorists?
27-year-old Charlie Guzman, yet another English major, said: “It depends on what they’re teaching.
“If it’s something that relates directly to their profession, then they could provide an approach to getting involved with an industry or that field specifically.”