MTVu show sends Celebs back to college
David Bauder

NEW YORK—The door to a Hunter College lecture hall opens, and in steps Madonna. There’s no tweed for this professor-for-a-day; she wears a black dress and form-fitting boots that stretch to her knees. She’s the latest participant in “Stand In,” one of MTV Networks’ hottest features, particularly given its brevity and relative lack of visibility.
The MTVu network, a spinoff seen primarily on college campuses, invites celebrities to be surprise lecturers. Since Jesse Jackson inaugurated the series in January 2004, “Stand In” has featured Bill Gates, Shimon Peres, Tom Wolfe, Kanye West, Ashley Judd, Russell Simmons, Snoop Dogg, Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) and Sting. “It brings the class to life in a way that few would ever imagine,” said Stephen Friedman, MTVu’s general manager. MTVu had envisioned a series where colleges would compete to hear a celebrity speak. But that proved too time-consuming to organize and when its second speaker, Marilyn Manson, nailed his appearance at Temple University, MTVu knew it had a better format.
Manson walked into a class on art and politics in full makeup, writing “Mr. Manson” on the blackboard and setting down a bottle of absinthe before the startled students. He then led a discussion on the role of provocative art in society, saying “art to me is a question mark. I don’t think it should ever be an answer.” Gates, the one-time computer geek turned world’s richest man, surprised a University of Wisconsin class on introduction to programming. McCain requested a visit to his alma mater, the U.S. Naval Academy, to talk politics. The students’ reaction is key; most episodes someone with mouth agape at who has just walked into their sleepy classroom. Participating colleges and MTVu try to keep the secret by telling fibs to students who may wonder about the cameras when they show up to class.
At Hunter last week, a film class was told it was screening Madonna’s new documentary, “I’m Going to Tell You a Secret,” and discussing it with the film’s director. With an endless stream of adults walking in and out of the room during the movie, smart students figured out what was happening. “Since there were security guards all lined up I figured she was coming,” said Pinar Noorata, a junior film major. “That was kind of a dead giveaway. But I think everybody was still surprised. It was kind of surreal.”
As the students stood and applauded Madonna, about a half-dozen pointed their cell phone cameras in her direction so their friends would believe them later. They lobbed mostly softball questions about the film, Madonna’s interest in kabbalah and her two-decade journey through different musical incarnations.