Posted on 06/29/2002 6:37:45 AM PDT by X-USAF
THE FASTIDIOUS Martha Stewart seems to have created an unsightly mess for Moore College of Art & Design.
Moore is scheduled to honor Stewart this fall with an honorary doctorate and Moore's first annual "Visionary Woman Award."
Now that Martha's reputation is as soiled as an unwashed napkin, that's something of a potential embarrassment for the college - which is keeping a watchful eye on developments.
"It's a fast-moving story. I'm trying to get the facts," college president Happy Fernandez said yesterday.
Fast-moving, indeed.
According to an article in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, the federal investigation of Stewart for insider stock trading has expanded to include possible obstruction of justice and making false statements.
Stewart sold $250,000 worth of stock in a biotech company the day before damaging information about the company was announced and the stock fell.
If Stewart sold the stock based on inside information and then lied about it, the Big Momma of the Matronly Arts could be cooking for a captive audience in the Big House rather than for viewers on TV.
Moore obviously picked Stewart to honor before the scandal broke. So, what would make the college pull the plug on the award? Mounting evidence of wrongdoing? An indictment?
"We haven't crossed that bridge yet," Fernandez said in a chilly conversation.
But, frankly, the scandal isn't what annoys some students about Moore's choice of Stewart to honor - at least the two students I spoke to yesterday outside the college, at 20th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
"A lot of people don't want her to represent our school," said Laura Thurner, 20, who'll be a junior in the fall.
"She's not an artist."
Lynze Morris, of Wisconsin, a sophomore, questioned the school's message, considering that Stewart's focus is solely on homemaking.
"It makes me question where our school thinks women should be," she said.
And to underscore just how touchy the school is about the issue, a guard came out while I was talking to the women and relayed a message to them not to talk to me.
The students refused to be intimidated and were angry that someone would try to squelch their right to express their opinion.
Fernandez said later she wasn't aware of the attempt to silence the students - so it's unclear just who sent the message.
Fernandez, a former city councilwoman and candidate for mayor, said the choice of Martha Stewart wasn't unpopular at the school - and disputed what the two students had told me: that a small protest had been mounted on campus against Stewart's selection.
I have to say, though, that I can't think of a less likely ideal for creative, idealistic, free-thinking art students than Stewart's pretentious perfectionism and glorification of hearth-and-home.
So, why did Moore pick Martha Stewart for its first award, besides the obvious wealth of publicity that it would attract?
"The purpose of the Visionary Woman Award is to highlight the accomplishments of women who've made major contributions to visual arts," Fernandez said.
Stewart, she said, has had "the single most powerful impact on home design in the country."
And she's a vastly successful entrepreneur, as well, she said.
"Many of our students - last year, 69 percent of graduating seniors - hope to be in their own business some day."
Fernandez said there were four nominees for the award - she declined to divulge the names of the others - and Stewart was the first choice.
The selection was approved by the board and the award, scheduled to be presented in October, was announced in March. A crew from Stewart's TV show subsequently spent a day at the school, filming and interviewing students.
And then the silver polish hit the fan.
Frankly, it's nice for the cynics among us to know that the priestess of perfectionism might be as hypocritical and greedy as the rest of us slobs.
The fact that she may have achieved at least some of her success by methods that wouldn't pass the white glove test suggest, however, she's not much of a role model for the women at Moore.
The two students I spoke to said Moore should be mindful of its responsibility as the only all-female visual arts school in the country and not pick someone like Martha Stewart to honor, scandal or no scandal.
"It's making us look so bad," Laura Thurner said.
The students refused to be intimidated and were angry that someone would try to squelch their right to express their opinion.
The true story here has nothing to do with Martha Stewart, rather it is about an employee of an educational instution trying to restrict the free speech of students. Moreover, the alleged attempt occured off of school property.
Fernandez said later she wasn't aware of the attempt to silence the students - so it's unclear just who sent the message.
Fernandez might not be aware, but what are the odds that she is busting her behind to find out. Likewise, I wonder what, if any action will be taken by the employee.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.