• Rich Barlow

    Senior Writer

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    Rich Barlow is a senior writer at BU Today and Bostonia magazine. Perhaps the only native of Trenton, N.J., who will volunteer his birthplace without police interrogation, he graduated from Dartmouth College, spent 20 years as a small-town newspaper reporter, and is a former Boston Globe religion columnist, book reviewer, and occasional op-ed contributor. Profile

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There are 17 comments on Dancing with the (Classroom) Stars

  1. It is wonderful, but one thing that bothers me, as an alumna of both Boston University and the BU Ballroom dance club, is that this event has been done yearly, the past 4 years, by the School of Education’s Elementary Education Club in order to raise money for the Trotter Elementary School in Dorchester. The event is certainly a great idea, and I’m sure with competitive ballroom dancers, the event had a completely different feel than the SED version had. I’m just disappointed that BU Today chose to cover this event, which, from my quick read, seemed to be just for the benefit of the club, and not spread the word about another ongoing tradition that is raising money for students in need.

  2. Profs and students with their hands all over each other. Boundaries, boundaries….

    The profs know this, even if the students are unaware of it. I’m really, really surprised. I wonder if the Chronicle picks up on this, I’m certain they’d have… something… to say about it.

  3. To anyone who worries about boundaries, as a ballroom dancer, I would say that there is a huge line between looking sexy and feeling sexual. The presentation of even the most sexy-looking steps requires the kind of practice you can’t do with your mind on other things. The steps are designed to look hot, in many cases, but the people who do them are showing off their technical skill…and having fun.

    Saying they “have their hands all over each other” is like saying that a rock-climbing instructor showing a student how to put on a harness has his hands all over her. It doesn’t really make sense when it’s you, it just looks that way from the outside. Just putting that out there.

  4. I agree with the previous comment about the Dancing with the Professors event that the School of Education has been doing every year. While it is not up to this kind of standard, it’s a fun event that draws a crowd every year for our community. And the funds for the event benefit the Trotter Elementary School right next door in Dorchester. I wish BU Today and other news sources around campus looked past the showy events and tried to get some information on events that may not be right in front of their faces. As a student, I don’t always want to read about the most popular news that I can get from other sources across campus. Regardless of BU Today, congrats to these students and faculty for their hard work! It looked like a great event!

  5. Actually, the BU Ballroom Dance Club emailed those in charge of the SED Dancing With The Professors to see if they wanted to work together, but wasn’t emailed back until months later.

    Also, this event was started to give professors the opportunity to learn how to ballroom dance and to have fun doing something outside of their teaching schedule. Nothing about this event was inappropriate, and each of the couples were extremely professional. Is it so hard to believe that professors can befriend students in a platonic manner? And none of the professors were partnered with one of their own students, we made sure to avoid that when partnering students and professors.

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