Recently Godzilla Riots appeared on the cover of the Eastern Michigan University website in a photo clearly showing her scarification by Wendi Wentzell at Lucky Monkey in Ann Arbor (you can click through to check out the full scar piece). She explains the context,
“The Eastern Michigan University Undergraduate Symposium is a one day program organized to recognize and celebrate the academic work of EMU undergraduate students. To participate a student not only has to be nominated by faculty sponsor but must also be recommended by the respective department as well. My own presentation was nominated by the history department, entitled ‘The Book of Jubilees as Jewish Apocalyptic Literature’. Surprisingly enough there was a representative of the Society of Biblical Literature in the audience and I am honored enough to have been invited to present at the Society’s annual conference.
I though it was pretty sick how EMU featured a picture of me presenting on their homepage, most especially when my scarification chest piece is in plain view. A university boasting me as a representative of the EMU academic community — this only proves, once again, the inaccuracy of society’s conception and generalization of people with body modifications.
Gotta love it when people with mods challenge notions of mainstream society by demonstrating their intelligence, especially when the integrity of their scholastic performance is recognized by the academic community.”
If this interested you, please also check out the interview with Alvar.
Comments
40 responses to “Scars don’t have to hold you back”
Go Chelsea!
Go Chelsea!
as a graduate of EMU, I am so happy to see this!
as a graduate of EMU, I am so happy to see this!
Modified Community 1, “Mainstream” Society 0.
You go girl !
Modified Community 1, “Mainstream” Society 0.
You go girl !
Cheers to Godzilla. It’s tough to be a modified professional or academic – you’ve got to work twice as hard to get the respect you deserve.
Cheers to Godzilla. It’s tough to be a modified professional or academic – you’ve got to work twice as hard to get the respect you deserve.
Yeah modified community wins but mainstream society wins too if some minds have been broadened. I really like seeing this.
Yeah modified community wins but mainstream society wins too if some minds have been broadened. I really like seeing this.
Amazing! we’ll take over academia one day 😀
Amazing! we’ll take over academia one day 😀
well….college and being on staff of such is one thing,being out in the open/society at large,I think would’nt be as open minded…personally scars arent such a bad thing…they seem to have keloided up pretty well
well….college and being on staff of such is one thing,being out in the open/society at large,I think would’nt be as open minded…personally scars arent such a bad thing…they seem to have keloided up pretty well
johnnykissthesky:
i actually think it’s a win for both sides. 🙂
ah, suzanne already called. but still. we all win when people can be accepted for who they are.
johnnykissthesky:
i actually think it’s a win for both sides. 🙂
ah, suzanne already called. but still. we all win when people can be accepted for who they are.
broken_wings:
True that. And the fight goes on. 😉
broken_wings:
True that. And the fight goes on. 😉
Woo Hoo! Another EMU in the mod scene =)
Woo Hoo! Another EMU in the mod scene =)
Having chest scars too, this makes me feel so much better about securing my future in the world of academia.
Having chest scars too, this makes me feel so much better about securing my future in the world of academia.
Ahem…read, and read well kids…
Academia is *not* the real world. Anyone who tells you different has never lived in the real world.
Ahem…read, and read well kids…
Academia is *not* the real world. Anyone who tells you different has never lived in the real world.
Agree with yttrx. Even in really technical fields like science and engineering, dress code and hierarchy at an industrial lab job is far different from a university lab. And universities are all about pushing the boundaries of culture and knowledge, so even though this is nice, I don’t think it counts as a major civil rights breakthrough or anything.
There’s much less of a chasm between “modified” and “mainstream” now though. So many people have visible tattoos and multiple piercings. Although scarification in this case _is_ a bit more hardcore.
Agree with yttrx. Even in really technical fields like science and engineering, dress code and hierarchy at an industrial lab job is far different from a university lab. And universities are all about pushing the boundaries of culture and knowledge, so even though this is nice, I don’t think it counts as a major civil rights breakthrough or anything.
There’s much less of a chasm between “modified” and “mainstream” now though. So many people have visible tattoos and multiple piercings. Although scarification in this case _is_ a bit more hardcore.
Hey I know that girl! And I live right by that campus. 😛
Hey I know that girl! And I live right by that campus. 😛
I just meant that having scars on your chest doesn’t mean that it affects your intelligence, and this proves it. I know that “Academia is *not* the real world”, but your place in +academia+ most often determines your place in this “real world”
I just meant that having scars on your chest doesn’t mean that it affects your intelligence, and this proves it. I know that “Academia is *not* the real world”, but your place in +academia+ most often determines your place in this “real world”
Yay, EMU!!! Went to Grad School there.
Yay, EMU!!! Went to Grad School there.
If she didn’t want her picture on the site, why would she wear a shirt that showed them off?
If she didn’t want her picture on the site, why would she wear a shirt that showed them off?
One, there was no way I could have known they were going to take pictures of me presenting and then use it on their homepage. And two, I never said I didn’t want my picture on their site…
One, there was no way I could have known they were going to take pictures of me presenting and then use it on their homepage. And two, I never said I didn’t want my picture on their site…
if I were so ugly, with or without scars – it wouldn’t change too much for me 😛
if I were so ugly, with or without scars – it wouldn’t change too much for me 😛
That’s my school!
and it is a pretty everyday thing to see modifications, and other personal touches to many students (and some staff and professor’s) physical appearance there.
I’m pumped to see my school here though!
That’s my school!
and it is a pretty everyday thing to see modifications, and other personal touches to many students (and some staff and professor’s) physical appearance there.
I’m pumped to see my school here though!