Use of ass gets man the axe

Remember the teacher who got suspended because the district he worked for found out that he was making paintings with his ass? Well, it looks like his ass (not to mention the rest of him) got fired:

A high school art teacher who sparked controversy when his off-hours work as a so-called "butt-printing artist" became known has been fired.

The Chesterfield County School Board, in a unanimous voice vote, decided to terminate Stephen Murmer at a meeting Tuesday night, spokeswoman Debra Marlow said.

[...]

In its decision, the board reasoned that students have a right to receive their education in a positive learning environment free from distractions and disruptions, Marlow said. The decision also is in keeping with court rulings that hold that teachers are expected to lead by example, be role models and honor core values, she said.

The school system operates under an ideal that holds respect, responsibility, honesty and accountability as core values for all students and employees to abide, and the board clearly felt that Murmer had gone outside those parameters with his art.

I feel bad for the guy, since this was obviously something he did outside of school, but if the board felt that this activity violated their standards for conduct, they had a right to hold him accountable.

Meanwhile, this case provides a valuable object lesson in this day and age:

Murmer, a teacher at Monacan High School, was suspended in December after objections were raised about his private abstract artwork, much of which includes smearing his posterior and genitals with paint and pressing them against canvas.

His paintings sell for as much as $900 each on his Web site.

The unique approach to art became a topic when a clip showing Murmer, wearing a fake nose and glasses, a towel on his head and black thong, turned up on YouTube.com.

That video inevitably made its way to the high school.

Of course it did.

So remember, the next time you get drunk and decide to show your ass at a party, or take off your top during spring break, or videotape yourself having sex with a celebrity, all of your friends, neighbors, and loved ones will eventually see it on the internets.

(But if you're a good-looking young lady, please, don't let that stop you.)