Student Graffiti Causes International Incident

[Mulboyne]

[floatr][/floatr]Mainichi: College student warned for graffiti on historical Italian cathedral
City Women's College has handed a strict warning to a student who drew graffiti on the Cathedral Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, Italy, during an overseas study tour, college officials said. The historic center of Florence, including the cathedral, is inscribed on the U.N. Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization's World Heritage List. The church said it would not demand payment for restoration if it received an apology, so the student and a college department chairman both sent apologies in English. College officials said that the a first-year student in the college's Department of Design for Contemporary Life wrote the date, her name, and the names of five friends with an oil-based marker on the marble wall of a lookout at the cathedral on Feb. 18. The student also reportedly wrote an abbreviation of the name of the college. The incident was uncovered after a Japanese tourist contacted the college on March 12 via e-mail. The college president reportedly issued a strict verbal warning to the student on March 14.

[Midwinter]

Silly girl, she forgot to include her phone number

[AssKissinger]

Vandalizing historical treasures is something I think the world is way to lenient about. She should get at least five years.

[wuchan]

Vandalizing historical treasures is something I think the world is way to lenient about. She should get at least five years.

I would be willing to bet that Japanese officials would go totally apeshit if an Italian kid did that to the Yakusuni shrine. I do have one question tho..... why are the apologies in english? Last time I went to Italy I am pretty sure that everyone spoke Italian and almost no one spoke English.

[IkemenTommy]

Vandalizing historical treasures is something I think the world is way to lenient about. She should get at least five years.

And some caning in the ass cheeks.

[emperor]

And some caning in the ass cheeks.

I have a cane and I'm willing to travel...

[Iraira]

Why do I see the plot for a bad (good) S&M flick in all of this? Innocent J-girl goes to Italy on a school trip (all-girl school, so we start with some lesbianism). After spray painting (maybe some other "painting, also), she gets caught by the authorities, turned over to the headmaster of teh school, who is a strict disciplinarian......anyone got a dumptruck we can film all of this in?

[Greji]

Why do I see the plot for a bad (good) S&M flick in all of this? Innocent J-girl goes to Italy on a school trip (all-girl school, so we start with some lesbianism). After spray painting (maybe some other "painting, also), she gets caught by the authorities, turned over to the headmaster of teh school, who is a strict disciplinarian......anyone got a dumptruck we can film all of this in?

I love hot plots. I know a dude that's got an Izuzu dump truck if you'll let me drive (runs to the loo for a wank)...

[Mike Oxlong]

Didn't some Japanese dude put graffiti on an Easter Island moai a few years back. He got off pretty easy too, IIRC.

[Mulboyne]

Some other students from Kyoto Sangyo University who had also left graffiti in the church were busted next. It now seems the whole wall is full of graffiti. Mostly in Italian, English and Spanish but about 10% appears to be in Japanese. There seems to be a mood to track down all the Japanese offenders with the example below regarded as a particulary bad case. It looks like it was written by pupils from a Tokyo school.

[dimwit]

Japanese Teacher Removed After Leaving Graffiti on the Duomo

It is the third case in a few days of Japanese tourists being accused of leaving graffiti on the Duomo of Florence. The last to be discovered was a 30-year-old teacher of a superior school, who was immediately dismissed from being the coach of the school baseball team, and who now risks being fired completely.

The Japanese media continues the ubiquitous coverage of this situation on its main television network. The two daily elders of the Sol Levante, Yomiuri and Asahi, are asking in its current edition for people to excuse the incorrect behavior of the vandals.

http://www.florencenewspaper.it/vediarticolo.asp?news=a8.06.30.17.34

Maybe we when considering whether Japanese are great tourists we should look to see if they are armed with a magic marker.

[AssKissinger]

How to ruin your life in 20 seconds

[kamome]

And some caning in the ass cheeks.

Is that what they're calling anal sex these days?

[Greji]

Is that what they're calling anal sex these days?

Hey, a little brown eye a day will keep the doctor away, but what's with this anal kick you've been on lately Bird? You into somebody you ain't telling us about?

[kamome]

Hey, a little brown eye a day will keep the doctor away, but what's with this anal kick you've been on lately Bird? You into somebody you ain't telling us about?

Hey! Accuse me of an anal kick again and you'll get a kick in your anal!

[Samurai_Jerk]

Yesterday I was watching one of the morning shows before going to work (the one on Channel 4 with Terry Itoh) and they were talking about this. The funny thing is they were actually censoring out the names on the graffiti. I guess they didn't want to break Japan's retardedly strict kojin joho laws.

[kusai Jijii]

The college president reportedly issued a strict verbal warning to the student on March 14.

Speaks volumes about the way Japan thinks of daigaku (note here, I am deliberately avoiding the term university) students, as well as the way most of them think about themselves.

And the bit about the letter of appology written in English, dont even get me started...

[IkemenTommy]

Yesterday I was watching one of the morning shows before going to work (the one on Channel 4 with Terry Itoh) and they were talking about this. The funny thing is they were actually censoring out the names on the graffiti. I guess they didn't want to break Japan's retardedly strict kojin joho laws.

Oh come one.. they should at least be publicly humiliated if they won't be getting the "caning in the ass cheeks"

[Greji]

[quote="kamome"]Hey! Accuse me of an anal kick again and you'll get a kick in your anal! ]

Oh, I love it when you talk dirty!

[Mulboyne]

AFP: Back in Florence, Japanese girl atones for graffiti

A Japanese teenager who was caught on video daubing graffiti on the Duomo in Florence flew back to the Renaissance city at her own expense to apologise, Italian media reported on Wednesday. The 19-year-old fashion student from Japan's Gifu University also offered 600 euros (950 dollars), television and news agency reports said. "We accept the apologies (and) we accept the money exceptionally for the gesture's great sense of civility," said the Duomo's chief curator Anna Mitrano, flanked by the university's visiting rector, Yukitoshi Matsuda. The incident, which took place in February and was captured on film, was one of several involving Japanese visitors in recent months. Mitrano noted that 2008 marked the 30th year of a friendship pact between Florence and Gifu.

[kurohinge1]

AFP: Back in Florence, Japanese girl atones for graffiti

A Japanese teenager who was caught on video daubing graffiti on the Duomo in Florence flew back to the Renaissance city at her own expense to apologise . . .

That's impressive.

[Mulboyne]

That's impressive.

The cathedral authorities have been so taken by this gesture that one of them has suggested putting up a small tag with the names of the group to acknowledge the 600 euro donation. I'm not sure that sends quite the right message.

[IkemenTommy]

The graffiti "artist" got off the hook really easily. She should have retaliated for her public humiliation by writing graffiti on the wall again.

[Takechanpoo]

Ranking of number of graffiti in Florence Cathedral's viewing platform

1.Korean
2.Japanese
3.Italian
4.English
5.Spanish

[kusai Jijii]

The graffiti "artist" got off the hook really easily..

When you compare this to the shit that the "selfish" Japanese hostages received on being released form Iraq a few years back, you really have to wonder, thats for sure...

Think I might get me a marker pen and go write "KJ waz here 2008" on the front gate of yasukuni...Only joking Take. Relax buddy.

[mijonju]

where's the video?
wow.. she must be high on weed or something to pull something like that..

[Kurofune]

It is the third case in a few days of Japanese tourists being accused of leaving graffiti on the Duomo of Florence. The last to be discovered was a 30-year-old teacher of a superior school, who was immediately dismissed from being the coach of the school baseball team, and who now risks being fired completely.

30?!

The Japanese media continues the ubiquitous coverage of this situation on its main television network. The two daily elders of the Sol Levante, Yomiuri and Asahi, are asking in its current edition for people to excuse the incorrect behavior of the vandals.

How ridiculous - but unfortunately not surprising. The only appeal they should be making is for Japanese schools to give no-nonsense warnings to students who are headed overseas. I'm thinking something like: "if you pull anything like that, your in-person and out-of-pocket restitution will reflect your apology on behalf of yourself, your school, and Japan. When you return to Japan, we'll consider whether you should be expelled."

Yeah, the apology letter written in English is pretty bad. They need to get over this mentality that the only serious languages are Japanese and English. I once had a student who said he wanted to learn English so he could go to Italy to learn to play soccer. When I told him that Italian would be more appropriate, he dropped his manners and gave me an ugly smirk.

[Visitor K]

hmm.. i wonder what the source of this 'ranking' is? im not able to find any such information by searching around.. in fact a search for just "florence cathedral" graffiti only turns up news on japanese.. adding the korean to the search doesnt bring up anything.. and a search for images brings up plenty of graffiti in japanese, but i cant find any in korean.
maybe it is another whitey conspiracy to cover this up and drive a wedge between japanese and koreans?

[Greji]

Ranking of number of graffiti in Florence Cathedral's viewing platform

1.Korean
2.Japanese
3.Italian
4.English
5.Spanish

Impressive Take. I didn't realize those students could write in so many different languages.....

[Mulboyne]

Mainichi: College students donate money to Italy's World Heritage cathedral to apologize for graffiti

Three male Kyoto Sangyo University students who were suspended for graffiting a World Heritage-listed cathedral in Italy donated about 150,000 yen (1,000 euros) to the cathedral last week. According to the university, the three were suspended for 14 days for scribbling their names and that of their school on a stone pillar on the top floor of the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore cathedral in Florence, Italy, during a trip in March this year. The students offered to help renovation work to the cathedral, but were turned down on the grounds that only experts could do the work; and instead, they sent money earned by working during their summer vacations. The university received an e-mail from the cathedral, saying that the students' admirable contribution would be put towards the renovation.