Source: Page 113 of White Noise Keywords: "Glassboro," "she," "message"

From: : pusssykatt@aol.com (Billie) Subject: Re: Clay Aiken Brouhaha in New Jersey Date: 12 Dec 2004 Newsgroups: alt.gossip.celebrities

>Monica Yant Kinney | Speaking out on Clay-gate earns a teacher a >timeout >By Monica Yant Kinney >Inquirer Columnist >Claymania continues. >At last count, more than 150 Clay Aiken fans have called and written >in disgust over Thursday's column. >A teacher at Clearview Regional High School in Mullica Hill has been >suspended for a week for speaking out about the American Idol star. >And students seem puzzled about why a grown-up who teaches them to >think critically has been punished for doing it herself. >All of this, over Aiken's stiffing some students of $500, reneging on >promised face time, and pulling an ego trip on one of their teachers >who dared to stand up for them? >With all this drama here in Gloucester County, who needs The O.C.? >The general consensus from the Claymates is that I'm an instrument of >evil bent on destroying a man sent from God to sing and sell >collectable Christmas ornaments for $12.99. >(Better order soon if you're giving them as a holiday gift. And why >not spring for some Clay Aiken wrapping paper for just $15 more?) >To the Claymates, it simply isn't conceivable that Aiken, or anyone in >his professional posse, could have been the slightest bit rude to >members of the school's Vocal Ensemble who backed him up at a recent >show in Washington Township. >The Clay they know isn't like that. >Clay loves kids. >He's kind. >He's Christian. >He's cute! >He rocks!!! >School's out >Not to disappoint Aiken's fans twice in one week, but I did not invent >the incident in a pathetic attempt to ruin his rep and steal his >spotlight. >I have no secret "Idol" ambitions. >Anyone who's heard me warble "The Gambler" on karaoke night at Les & >Doreen's Happy Tap in Fishtown can attest to that. >Now the kids in Clearview's Vocal Ensemble, they make joyful noise. >And after their less-than-harmonious experience with Aiken last week, >one of their teachers was so steamed that she had to tell someone. >This being an electronic age, Susan Barry sat down at her computer, >typed out a tirade, cc'd everyone she knows, and hit "send." >Barry being an English teacher, she used some choice words and phrases >to describe the slights and snubs her students endured. >In a fatal move, she forwarded the rant to the gossipy blog >www.gawker.com. >You know what happened next. >Administrators at Clearview got wind of Barry's e-mail. So did I. >By the time my column hit front porches Thursday, Barry had already >been placed on a week's paid suspension by Clearview's superintendent. >By week's end, even the teachers' union was still trying to determine >the exact nature of Barry's offense. >"I've never heard of anything quite like this," said Steve Wollmer, of >the New Jersey Education Association. >Life lessons in B-flat >Carolyn Frassenei is in Barry's 11th-grade honors English class. Her >mom, Christine, teaches elementary school in nearby Washington >Township. >Unlike her colleagues at Clearview, Christine Frassenei doesn't >hesitate to howl over the musical mess. >"I'm flabbergasted," she said between classes yesterday. "[Barry's] a >fabulous teacher who's showing the kids to think for themselves and >when they write, to dig deeper." >And yet, Barry got benched for doing just that - if a bit >gratuitously. >"It's an infringement on her freedom of speech," said Carolyn >Frassenei, 17. >Not to mention stalling the serious students' schedule. >They're slogging through The Catcher in the Rye, and now find >themselves without their trusted literary tour guide right before the >long holiday break. >In a move that might surprise grown-ups who loved to torture >substitute teachers, one student started a petition seeking to bring >Barry back. >Mik Matusek, 16, thinks a day or two at home is plenty. The longer >Barry is banished, "it's the students getting punished." >So far, he's got 40 signatures, including Carolyn Frassenei's. >She wants to be a teacher. Just like her American Idols: her parents. >------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- >Contact Monica Yant Kinney at 856-779-3914 or m...@phillynews.com. > email this print this >http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/columnists/monica_yant_kinney/> >Posted on Thu, Dec. 09, 2004 >Monica Yant Kinney | Hey, Idol: Quit bullying kids >By Monica Yant Kinney >Inquirer Columnist >If students earned grades from the school of hard knocks, the >teenagers in Clearview Regional High's Vocal Ensemble deserve an A for >stomaching the sour taste of fame. >Give the grownups around them high marks, too, for trying to protect >the kids from another close encounter of the mean kind with aw-shucks >American Idol star Clay Aiken. >Me, I'm not afraid of freckle face. >He has more hair than I do, but I could take him in a wrestling match. >And I have a zero-tolerance policy for Hollywood heavies pulling ego >trips on teenagers and teachers. >Which is what happened last week when the Gloucester County school's >vocal group got the opportunity of a lifetime to sing with Aiken at >his sold-out concert in Washington Township. >By night's end, the Claymates had been bullied and berated. They were >stiffed for their services. >When one grown-up dared to speak up, Aiken dressed her down. >He told her she was a disgrace. >Only it wasn't some pushy stage mom he had tossed from the performance >hall. It was the 2003 New Jersey teacher of the year. >Not that she, or anybody at Clearview, wants to relive the >humiliation. >They fear paybacks. Supposedly, the boy toy threatened to "make >trouble" if they talked to reporters. >As one parent confided: "My son wants a future in show business. I >don't want him saying anything negative about the industry." >The story of fear and loathing in the key of C begins before >Thanksgiving. >That's when the Clearview singers got a last-minute invite to perform >with Aiken when his "Joyful Noise Tour" stopped here last Thursday. >Not long ago, Aiken was just another geek with glasses and bad hair. >Thanks to his American Idol makeover, he's adored by teenage girls, >gay men, and a group calling itself Lecherous Broads for Clay Aiken. >As I type, he's got both an inspirational memoir and CD on the charts. >"A Clay Aiken Christmas" aired on NBC last night, with Barry Manilow >among the very special guests. >Tickets for his concert cost up to $127.50. At his official Web site, >www.clayaiken.com, you can even buy holiday wrapping paper stamped >with Clay's face for $15. >Clearview's Vocal Ensemble doesn't have a merchandising deal yet, but >it does have a sterling reputation. >It has sung Mozart's Requiem at Carnegie Hall. It has performed on the >Today show. >Details of the students' real-life pop opera emerged from interviews >with people too scared to let me quote them - and from one teacher's >account e-mailed to friends and posted at the Web site www.gawker.com. >Those in the know confirmed all the ugly details. >How Aiken went diva on them and reneged on promised face time and >autographs with the students. >How he sicced security goons on a student who snapped a photo during >rehearsal. How he fought with the award-winning teacher who dared to >stand up for her kids. >How the pop star's people made a big show of handing over a promised >$500 donation to the Vocal Ensemble - and how the envelope was empty. >And how Aiken's crew kept the students hungry for hours, only to >deliver a meager supply of ice-cold chicken nuggets just before show >time. >Happy Meals - for high schoolers? >What were they thinking? >I'm not surprised Aiken's reps didn't return a call for comment. >After teachers told me they couldn't talk, Clearview Superintendent >Mike Toscano spoke for all of them. >Ever diplomatic, he said the brush with greatness had taught the >students lessons they could never get in a classroom. >"They got a bigger picture of the music industry," Toscano said. >"They got their eyes opened. They got a taste of real-life show >business maybe they didn't have before." >And if sours them on it for good? >They can thank the American Idol. >------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------- >Contact Monica Yant Kinney at 856-779-3914 or m...@phillynews.com. >Read her recent work at http://go.philly.com/yantkinney. >http://www.gawker.com/> >Following Up: Clay Aiken Still Hates The Little Children >We hate to say we told you so, but the virulent influx of hatemails >from belligerent Clay Aiken fans is forcing us to do exactly that. On >Monday, we ran an email from a NJ teacher claiming that Clay Aiken and >his people treated students and staff from a local school choir like >little slave-monkeys and then threatened to "make trouble" if any of >the present parties talked to the press. The Philadelphia Inquirer has >done some follow-up work—like, real journalism!—and confirms the >story's veracity. And yes, we're sure Clay was very nice in every >other city he went to, but he certainly behaved like a twat in Jersey. >Fin. >Hey, Idol: Quit Bullying Kids [Philly.com via Reality Blurred] >Related Entries >Dec. 06, 2004 >Clay Aiken Hates The Little Children >Can we just take a moment to reflect on the darling charm that is >beloved American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken? He's so sweet, so kind—he >was even working in special education before prefabricated >superstardom came calling. >Gee, wouldn't it be absolutely crazy if our pasty little pink boy was >actually a big fat meanie? According to reports surfacing from the >wilds of New Jersey, it just might be possible. While rehearsing with >his backup choir from a local school, Aiken allegedly "berated" the >kids, deprived them of a timely feeding, banned a teacher from the >rehearsal venue, and then presented the school with a fake check for >their efforts. >While we rush out and buy Aiken's heartwarming holiday album, do >peruse the full report after the jump. >From: [redacted] >To: Gawker >Subject: Clay Aiken >Date: 12/5/2004 >I sent the following email to everyone on my contact list yesterday. I >teach English at Clearview Regional High School in Mullica Hill, NJ. >It's a rural community in Gloucester County, South Jersey (about 15 >mins. SE of Phila.). I initially shied away from sending this email to >you because Clay Aiken threatened to make trouble for our district if >we "called the newspaper." Since I've had a day to reflect, I've >assumed a "fuck this little turd" attitude. Do whatever you want with >this stuff...at the very least I thought you might get a mild chuckle >out of Aiken pulling a musical Kathie Lee. >----------Original Message---------- >Hello all. >Backstory is here. >I have the privilege of working very closely with the exemplary kids >in the Vocal Ensemble at the school where I teach. In addition to >having many of them in class, I interact with them as an Ensemble >chaperone and as the assistant director of the musical theater >program. They are wildly talented, brilliant young people. They have >performed at Carnegie Hall (and will again in May), the National >Cathedral in DC, the Today Show, in a variety of venues on the East >Coast and in Canada, and will be featured performers at a music >educators' conference in LA in February. They are the "real deal." >Earlier this week, several members of the group were invited to >perform with American Idol-also ran Clay Aiken in Washington Twp. The >kids spent several hours in rehearsal and sound check for this >last-minute "opportunity." In the course of the day, the following >incidents took place: >*Although the students were promised photos/autographs/a little bit of >face-time with Aiken, he refused all of these after two excited >Ensemble members tried to take photos when Aiken entered the theater. >In fact, security threatened to have the students removed from the >venue. The 50 CDs that the music program purchased for signing were >essentially wasted. >* Aiken was extremely terse with the students, at times berating them >for reasons that are still unclear. >*The road crew refused to turn down or turn off their music so the >students could rehearse the music they had only received 2 days prior. >* Aiken's people promised to feed the kids at 5:30. Once that time >came and went, and the kids were starting to really fade, Ensemble >staff bought pizza for the kids with out-of-pocket funds. At about 7 >pm, Aiken's staff showed up with ...get ready...McDonald's Happy >Meals. >* When an Ensemble staff member expressed her discontentment with the >way the kids had been treated, Aiken engaged the woman in a verbal >altercation. This resulted in mini-diva Aiken barring the staff member >from the venue, and security escorting this very distinguished >educator (a recent NJ State Teacher of the Year) from the theater. >* When the offer to sing was extended to the Ensemble, Aiken's people >promised a decently-sized donation to the Ensemble. A relatively >ostentatious show was made of the presentation of a check to a choir >member. Later, when the student opened the envelope...it was empty. >Now folks, I have never sent anything to every single person on my >contact list until now. Of the thirty kids who performed last night, I >saw around 20 of them in classes today. One particularly reflective >young man complained, "You know, I'd say I felt like a prostitute, but >even a whore would've gotten paid. It was more like we got raped." >Hyperbolic, perhaps, but still an apt analogy. Aiken got credit for >including local "Claymates" on stage. The kids got a whole lotta grief >and not much else. >----- >BACK STORY >http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news-8/110206534717260.xml?g... >Clearview group gains feat of Clay >Friday, December 03, 2004 >By Shawn G. Menzies >smenz...@sjnewsco.com >Thirty members of the Clearview Regional High School Vocale Ensemble >got the chance of a lifetime as they were asked to perform on stage >with an "American Idol" Thursday. >Representatives for Clay Aiken, who performed his holiday show >Thursday at the Commerce Bank Performing Arts Centre in Washington >Township, called on the Harrison Township-based school district to >select 30 of the group's 43 members to sing alongside the "American >Idol" show runner-up. >"I think it is an honor to sing on the same stage as Clay Aiken," Jake >Lessman, 18, of Mantua Township, said moments before the ensemble was >to take part in a sound check. "We get a chance to sing with someone >in the business. It's a great opportunity on our part." >But it has not been an easy last few days. Jack Hill, the ensemble's >director, said they were notified Monday and didn't receive the music >until Tuesday. >The 2,500-seat arts centre sold out in two hours back in October for >Aiken's show, officials said. Aiken is touring the country in support >of his new CD, "Merry Christmas with Love," which according to >SoundScan is the best-selling CD in its debut week for a Christmas >album. >"It's nice for Clay Aiken to choose a high school choir to sing with >him," Joe Commisso, 18, of Mantua Township said. "It gives us an >introduction to see what the business is like." >Hill said members of the ensemble had a very busy day leading up to >the performance Thursday. They had to report to the arts centre at >1:15 p.m. for rehearsal. Then it was off to a performance in Glassboro >and back to the stage by 2:30 p.m. for a sound check with Aiken and >his 30-piece orchestra. A dinner break was set for 5:30 and the show >started at 8 p.m., officials said. >Decked out in tuxedoes and gowns, the students were all smiles, with >no one looking overly nervous. >"It feels surreal to get this opportunity," said Rebecca Roush, 18, of >Mantua Township. >As the clocked counted down to showtime, it was still unclear for >members of the ensemble and their director just how they were chosen. >"I really do not know," Hill said. "They called us and asked." >One school official said she believes that because the Clearview >Regional High School Vocale Ensemble has a performance in California >in February, information could have landed in the hands of Aiken's >people. >"I think they are very excited, they do not know what to expect," Hill >said. "We have been preparing for the past several days. They just >found out that not only will they have to sing, they will also have >movements and they will only have one, two-hour practice to learn it. >I am sure it will be fine, but it is nerve-wracking." I think this reporter needs to accept some of the responsibility for fanning the flame. I'm also stunned that she is reporting this for reputable newspaper...if it is. Billie Please submit your suggestions for 'Website of the Day' to: pusssyk...@aol.com http://artwc.org/Billie/AGCWEBSITES04.html BLIND ITEMS: http://www.geocities.com/agcblinditems/2004/JULYAUG2004.html NLSTP: http://artwc.org/Billie/NLSTP/NLSTP

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