May 16, 2008
Graduate Non Grata: No MSG Ceremony for NYU Grad
Photographs by sarahheiman on Flickr (1, 2)
Apparently when you run onto Yankee Stadium's field during NYU graduation exercises, you also get banned from other graduation events. William Lopez, super recent NYU film school graduate, told the Daily News he couldn't attend the "salute" to NYU film students but was still proud of his antics, "It was the best moment of my life." Well, that's what the pricey tuition is for!
As video showed, the crowd of graduates and their friends and family were cheering Lopez on. Though one student thought the 22-year-old "runs like Posada" (ouch!), most were full of praise: "He's going to always be remembered as the guy who ran around the bases and got tackled, which is pretty cool." Another said, "There was no need to have him tackled to the ground by four or five people and arrested on the field."
Lopez told WCBS 2, "The school taught me to be a creative person and to express myself freely and it was definitely a liberating moment." Liberating enough to have a court date in July.
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This kid RULES. This actually made me smile. Why the hell not do this?!?
they should have euthanized him right there on the third base line.
"Don't tase me bro'!" (er. maybe not?)
What did they expect? A stadium much larger than needed (why not something closer to campus?) with a large, empty, nicely-manicured grass field beckoning the students growing bored with the speeches.
All the kids should have ran out there.
"He's going to always be remembered as the guy who ran around the bases and got tackled, which is pretty cool."
Um, yeah, unless the guy who remembers is the guy sitting across the desk with your resume in his hands.
Good move, genius.
running towards home plate...something the yankee's haven't done much lately.
Tim N.
Do you really think this will hurt his chances of getting a job? For having fun on his graduation day?
they needed terry tate, office linebacker.
#7... yes.
He just put the "jerk" flag smack in the middle of his forehead. When he's up against a thousand other guys who are as smart as he is or as talented as he is or as good a fit as he is, he just gave every guy he interviews with a reason to say "no."
Trust me. I work with people who interview twentysomethings all the time, and it's amazing how they look at them and others and think "you just don't get it." And the guys on the other side look back and say, "no, you just don't get it." And it's the guy holding the resume that gets the last word. Sorry. It's the way of the world. Don't you think that when it comes down to two or three people for the one opening that interviewers Google interviewees?
I can remember when my friends and I sprayed the crowd with bubbly just as our commencement speaker, Governor Mario Cuomo (yeah, I'm old) was striding to the podium. The robed masters of the school were horrified, but Cuomo just looked out and said, "I hope that's New York State champagne!" Screwed around, no harm, no foul. It's one thing to screw around at graduation. It's another to do something so unbelievably stupid that your face and name end up on the TV news, the cover of two tabloids, and all over the blogs.
"..you also get banned from other graduation events"
Oh Nooooo! I'm sure he'll crawl over to the NYU administration and beg for forgiveness.
The only graduation event that matters is the University one, in which he screwed himself over spectacularly.
Not everybody's looking for a job at Olde Stuffie and Borring, Inc.
He may have just given his interviewer a reason to say yes.
If I was his "interviewer" at Guantanamo, I'd say yes.
"Olde Stuffie and Borring, Inc."
And where exactly are you planning on working? Free Money and Noshow, LLC isn't hiring.
Ah, youth.
This antic isn't going to ruin a film major's career. And Google people aren't dumb enough to dismiss an interviewee on such an incident.
Psst, Tim N., I'm not that young and I am happily employed at the moment, thanks - at a job where I can be myself. Some people make it happen!
I'm just saying I doubt anyone's going to remember this kid's name after today.
And do we even know if he'll be looking for a job right away? Maybe he's going to backpack around the world or go to grad school. Surely no one's going to remember him next year.
Plus, he's a FILM SCHOOL graduate. Do you seriously think he's looking or a corporate job?
And if he is looking for a corporate job, and the hiring managers all scour the "TV news, tabloids, and blogs" daily AND remember the names of the kids carrying out the wacky antics, AND believe there is only one "William Lopez" in New York City, I'm sure there will be at least a few who wished they had done something similar at his age, or have been asked to bring a more "young and vibrant" component to the work team.
There are so many options out there, Tim N. Really. It's ok not to toe the corporate line. Maybe you should quit your job and climb Everest. You know, do one of those midlife finding yourself things. It could be good for you.
I work for Free Money and Noshow, Inc., a production company, and we just optioned this kid's story for a Showtime broadcast scheduled to come out this time next month.
We are looking for people who work for Olde Stuffie & Boring to tell us their stories, but only if they promise not to quit their jobs and climb Everest, or even run out onto the ballfield EVER. Especially exciting for us are tales of people dying slowly of obesity, common cancers, and other long-term terminal illnesses -- discovered or latent until way too late. You will be referred to our subsidiary, Free Money and Noshow, LLC.
Thank you.
Something tells me, Tim N couldnt event be the "Life of the Party" at a Morgue.
If Tim N wrote a book about his life, it would be as exciting as an instruction manual.