CalFarts

Attending a small arts institute has been a strange experience to me if only because my other non-public educational experience was the juggernaut of USC. Having worked in many different places at USC, I can tell you it is often more a business than a place of learning. So much red tape, hoops to jump through, tons of BS. Fighting the system there is one of the most frustrating experiences I have had in my adult life. Then at CalArts I'll see nudies walking around and no one bats an eyelash. Some small things that are telling to me about CalArts:

1. There are those little take a penny/leave a penny trays in the cafeteria at CalArts. These trays are consistently overflowing with not just pennies, but also nickels and dimes.
2. The President's Luncheon at the beginning of the year was advertised as "clothing optional."
3. I'll see posters of Disney (CalArts' founder) and someone will have drawn a big arrow with the word "NAZI" next to it. It stays up all semester.
4. The graffiti in the little girls' room:

The cynical side of me wants to scoff at this silly little place in the middle of nowhere...but then I realize that I can pay for most of my lunch from the penny tray.