The Hans Christian Anderson tale “The Emperor’s New Clothes” has taken on a new meaning to some on campus. Posters depicting the tale have been found in various campus bathrooms, with the addition of President Troy Hammond’s face on the scantily clad emperor.
At first glance, the posters may seem humorous. Bonnie Coleman, ’19, noticed one poster in a bathroom stall on the first floor of Old Main and couldn’t help but laugh. “I was having a bad day and it lightened the mood momentarily,” she said.
“I didn’t read any meaning into (it) other than that whoever created it has too much time on their hands,” said Coleman.
However, Anderson’s tale is not a positive portrayal of the character Hammond is likened to on these posters. The story is that of a hapless ruler who is fooled into wearing clothes that can only be seen by those who are either competent or worthy of royalty. Because these ‘invisible’ clothes are not real, the emperor believes that everyone else is unworthy and incompetent because they can’t see them. He parades himself around, in the instance of these posters, wearing only boxers as his subjects watch silently.
It is not until a child points out that the emperor is wearing nothing that his narcissistic nature is revealed.
Though the distributor has not yet stepped forward, the posters have been spotted in Old Main, Pfeiffer and Goldspohn.
2 Comments
I feel like this article is only scratching the surface. What decisions is he making that students are at odds with? As a recent-ish alum and former editor here, I’m curious to know. Maybe worth a follow-up story.
This story is still developing as the posters were just discovered yesterday. We’re working on further stories for both our print issue and website so keep checking back for updates, or grab a copy of the Chronicle on campus week 9.