Wierdo taking my picture at college

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Jibreil

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Today was my first day of physics II and this random creep took a picture of me. I was sitting on a bench while we were on break (its a 4 hour class) and I could see him positioning his camera on me and snapping thinking I couldn't see. What do I do? I'm already uncomfortable at this CC as isn't my home CC. I'm only taking this class here as its not offered @ my home CC. This one is in the city with more diversity I'd say. I'm a very androgynous male that looks very feminine and I get enough stares as it is. This CC has more weirdos that just make me feel extremely uncomfortable to the point of me debating whether to drop the class or not. What do I do?
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Well at this point there's really nothing you can do about it.

Best case scenario, it was a photography project or a picture for a brochure so the school looks more diverse.

Worst case scenario, he's a serial killer. If you see him again clearly seeking you out, call the police. There's really nothing they can do after the fact.
 
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Take a picture of him in the next class. Make sure he notices.
 
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If it were me I'd flex and yell out "curls for the girls!"
 
Do nothing.

One picture does not a stalker make. If more happens, do more.
 
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get over yourself is the first thing you can do.
 
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Report it as harassment, possibly of a sexual nature. Definitely don't drop just
'cause some creepy dude (I'm assuming male).

I'm stunned this wasn't said already.
 
sat0ri said:
Report it as harassment, possibly of a sexual nature. Definitely don't drop just
'cause some creepy dude (I'm assuming male).

I'm stunned this wasn't said already.
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can't report 1 picture for sexual harrasment esp if it's in public.
 
sat0ri said:
Report it as harassment, possibly of a sexual nature. Definitely don't drop just
'cause some creepy dude (I'm assuming male).

I'm stunned this wasn't said already.
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lol
 
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hoihaie said:
can't report 1 picture for sexual harrasment esp if it's in public.
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You can't tell the teacher?

Also, if you read my post, I was purposeful in not claiming it was one.
 
Personally, I'd be like "**** that, I'm not dealing with this ****. I'm here to learn. You can think whatever you want about me, just as long as I don't have to deal with you." It's only undergrad afterall, and not even at your home campus, there aren't the typical social repercussions you would normally need to worry about.

Clearly, it's not a full-blow incident, but why wait for one?

That's of course assuming you can't just ignore it altogether--but that you're considering dropping shows this less than likely. So whatever, you have every right. Eff 'em
 
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Jibreil said:
Today was my first day of physics II and this random creep took a picture of me. I was sitting on a bench while we were on break (its a 4 hour class) and I could see him positioning his camera on me and snapping thinking I couldn't see. What do I do? I'm already uncomfortable at this CC as isn't my home CC. I'm only taking this class here as its not offered @ my home CC. This one is in the city with more diversity I'd say. I'm a very androgynous male that looks very feminine and I get enough stares as it is. This CC has more weirdos that just make me feel extremely uncomfortable to the point of me debating whether to drop the class or not. What do I do?
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At the very least, I would report this guy to your campus security.

It is not ok for some random guy to be taking pictures of you.
 
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For some reason, when I read "positioning his camera" I got a mental image of some guy with a giant old school camera with a stand, like awkwardly trying to position the camera in a crowd of people. I don't know why, but it made me laugh.
 
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Jibreil said:
Today was my first day of physics II and this random creep took a picture of me. I was sitting on a bench while we were on break (its a 4 hour class) and I could see him positioning his camera on me and snapping thinking I couldn't see. What do I do? I'm already uncomfortable at this CC as isn't my home CC. I'm only taking this class here as its not offered @ my home CC. This one is in the city with more diversity I'd say. I'm a very androgynous male that looks very feminine and I get enough stares as it is. This CC has more weirdos that just make me feel extremely uncomfortable to the point of me debating whether to drop the class or not. What do I do?
Click to expand...

Make sure you go on Reddit and check that you are not a meme now. I would report this to your school and have a school police officer come with you to ask the guy why did he take a pic of you. I have been through this situation before at the gym; some scrawny dudes took some pics of me while I was doing some weight lifting, I let it go since they were mirin.
 
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Jibreil said:
Today was my first day of physics II and this random creep took a picture of me. I was sitting on a bench while we were on break (its a 4 hour class) and I could see him positioning his camera on me and snapping thinking I couldn't see. What do I do? I'm already uncomfortable at this CC as isn't my home CC. I'm only taking this class here as its not offered @ my home CC. This one is in the city with more diversity I'd say. I'm a very androgynous male that looks very feminine and I get enough stares as it is. This CC has more weirdos that just make me feel extremely uncomfortable to the point of me debating whether to drop the class or not. What do I do?
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I don't really see how this belongs in the "Pre-Medical Allopathic [MD]" forum but I guess its just me...
 
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I would say something to Campus Public Safety right now. It is worth the piece of mind in case this guy is up to no good. You can never be too careful with these things, IMO.
 
You're in public?

You can be photographed.

Deal.
 
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RespectTheChemistry19 said:
I would say something to Campus Public Safety right now. It is worth the piece of mind in case this guy is up to no good. You can never be too careful with these things, IMO.
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The proper phrase is PEACE of mind. RespectTheChemist= 5 on verbal hahaaaa
 
cthorburn said:
I think if you're in a public location people can take photos of you in most cases. I vaguely remeber reading about a case where some guy was photographing female life guards and got away with it.
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I think a university is supposed to be a protected environment. If his learning is being disrupted and a substantive way (i.e., not merely just imagined), he can tell the teacher at the very least. This is really no different than anything else, where you would simply let the teach know so you can continue learning (except there is a social aspect to it, and so we feel social pressures not to).

There is a slight layer of complexity with the purported nature of this, but that really hasn't come into to play yet--but it is worth mentioning if it is both truly felt and also in case it actually does develop into something more blatantly sexual.
 
Jibreil said:
Today was my first day of physics II and this random creep took a picture of me. I was sitting on a bench while we were on break (its a 4 hour class) and I could see him positioning his camera on me and snapping thinking I couldn't see. What do I do? I'm already uncomfortable at this CC as isn't my home CC. I'm only taking this class here as its not offered @ my home CC. This one is in the city with more diversity I'd say. I'm a very androgynous male that looks very feminine and I get enough stares as it is. This CC has more weirdos that just make me feel extremely uncomfortable to the point of me debating whether to drop the class or not. What do I do?
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You should maybe model part-time in med school. : )
 
He's taking those pics home and he's gonna do bad things with them. Make sure you take pics of him too, right in front of him, he'll probably get pissed off but who cares.
 
My photo ended up on my undergrad's website somehow. Then I put "modeling" on my AMCAS activities.




Half of that statement is actually true. You can guess which half.
 
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dbeast said:
My photo ended up on my undergrad's website somehow. Then I put "modeling" on my AMCAS activities.




Half of that statement is actually true. You can guess which half.
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The modelling part...you put it on your AMCAS because you're actually one of the Calvin Klein underwear dudes. No pic of you went on the school website, though...too racy!
 
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dbeast said:
My photo ended up on my undergrad's website somehow. Then I put "modeling" on my AMCAS activities.
Half of that statement is actually true. You can guess which half.
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Pics?
 
Are you pretty or fugly?

If fugly, be thankful and smile when he took a pic because no one else will/would/want to.

If pretty, go over and offer him an autograph and a selfie together so he can post it on Facebook and boast about baggin' a hottie on campus.
 
sat0ri said:
I think a university is supposed to be a protected environment. If his learning is being disrupted and a substantive way (i.e., not merely just imagined), he can tell the teacher at the very least. This is really no different than anything else, where you would simply let the teach know so you can continue learning (except there is a social aspect to it, and so we feel social pressures not to).

There is a slight layer of complexity with the purported nature of this, but that really hasn't come into to play yet--but it is worth mentioning if it is both truly felt and also in case it actually does develop into something more blatantly sexual.
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Lol you must not go to a school with an open campus or in a big city.

I'm all for alerting campus police in the instant, and for letting them know about it if you feel so inclined (even though they'll say they can't do anything about it). But you think the professor is going to actually do anything? Maybe it's just from going to a huge school in a city, but I don't think this is that big of a deal.
 
Pics or it didn't happen.

dbeast said:
My photo ended up on my undergrad's website somehow. Then I put "modeling" on my AMCAS activities.




Half of that statement is actually true. You can guess which half.
Click to expand...
 
There would always be art/photography students taking pics around my campus, as well as brochure and website people. I would chill, personally.
 
@Jibreil - Why do you jump to the conclusion that the photographer was 'creepy' and that his reason for taking the photograph is something malignant?

I get that you were uncomfortable, but from the limited information you provided, it sounds like you're letting your imagination run away with you. Get a hold of that runaway imagination, but make it a point to be aware of this guy just in case your 'short hairs' were accurately onto something. And if there are any future incidences, ask 'creepy guy' what he's doing and ask him to stop.
 
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Ismet said:
Lol you must not go to a school with an open campus or in a big city.

I'm all for alerting campus police in the instant, and for letting them know about it if you feel so inclined (even though they'll say they can't do anything about it). But you think the professor is going to actually do anything? Maybe it's just from going to a huge school in a city, but I don't think this is that big of a deal.
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Well I guess I just always imagined community colleges as being a lot smaller and more intimate.(And personally, I'm from a campus in the Top 5 of student body population).
No I don't think it is that big of a deal, and the best strategy would be to brush it off for most people--but this isn't always the case for everyone. If a dude was leering at some girl and took a picture of her, I think it would be a lot clearer that she doesn't have to deal with it; at least, I can't shake that feeling it has something to do with that. In that case, it is certainly clear she would have every right to take action? I think he has every right in this case as well. I don't why we're so conditioned to accept social harassment. And sorry, I don't mean to magnify this into a broader context, but the persistence seems to impel me to hypothesize this. Why should he have to deal with this? Maybe I'm too big of a fan of the movie "Elephant".
Report it. Likely will do little. Maybe deter the person if he knows there could be consequence. Maybe provide a documented chronology for pontential future instance. At any rate, the focus is that you don't let anyone interfere with your education, that you pay for, especially when there are little to no social/professional consequences.
 
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And speaking strictly personally, I would inform them that you were considering taking action and how you felt. To me, that is a much better definition of being "strong", which I think some are alluding to the contrary (which sounds like gender normativity to me, as a call back to my #36 post in this thread). That way they have the chance to voice their opinion, maybe clear up miscommunication, maybe give them a chance to reconsider and apologize. This isn't always possible when the harassed feels threatened, but I tend to be coldly logical in situation like this.
 
Even at a tiny school (mine had fewer than 2k students) this would honestly not be considered worth anyone's time to look into. It's a gossip-seed, gives you something to chat about with people and say how weird it was, and then you move on. I mean, come on, it's a frakking CAMERA. In PUBLIC. ONCE.
 
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Mr Roboto said:
You're in public?

You can be photographed.

Deal.
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This is true. I'm a professional photographer on the side, and while I never did street photography nor took candids of unsuspecting subjects, a lot of people do this. If you are in a public place, you don't have the right to privacy unfortunately. I believe it's best to be respectful, and not photograph people like that. But that's just me.

Often times you might be photographed without ever knowing it. A lot of telephoto lenses these days are small and cheap. Also with mirrorless cameras, they are so small that you'd never notice!
 
sat0ri said:
And speaking strictly personally, I would inform them that you were considering taking action and how you felt. To me, that is a much better definition of being "strong", which I think some are alluding to the contrary (which sounds like gender normativity to me, as a call back to my #36 post in this thread). That way they have the chance to voice their opinion, maybe clear up miscommunication, maybe give them a chance to reconsider and apologize. This isn't always possible when the harassed feels threatened, but I tend to be coldly logical in situation like this.
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And what action would you consider? If the photographer was on public property, he/she can take whatever pictures he/she wants. There are some state specific restrictions, related to taking pictures of what's visible inside residences but this is not what the OP described.
It can be unpleasant to be photographed like that but it is one of the drawbacks of being out in the public space. There are plenty of photographers who make their living by pushing this as far as they can. Most paparazzi are a good example. There is also a guy in NYC who takes very "in the face" pictures of random people on the street without their permission and with the purpose to get their negative reaction.
 
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milski said:
And what action would you consider? If the photographer was on public property, he/she can take whatever pictures he/she wants. There are some state specific restrictions, related to taking pictures of what's visible inside residences but this is not what the OP described.
It can be unpleasant to be photographed like that but it is one of the drawbacks of being out in the public space. There are plenty of photographers who make their living by pushing this as far as they can. Most paparazzi are a good example. There is also a guy in NYC who takes very "in the face" pictures of random people on the street without their permission and with the purpose to get their negative reaction.
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Simply notify the teacher, for the reasons said previously. Will anything happen? Almost certainly not, but it does have it's benefits. Of course, you could just brush it off. But OP is looking for options, and is considering dropping. Don't drop. Tell the teacher if it's really that bad--we can all doubt the veracity of these claims (which is a problem when do this, especially in many cases with females), but I'm outlining the options.

At my school, any time they wanted pictures of us, we had to sign waivers. Universities are protected environments, and you're paying to be there. Rights are different in public spaces. You have a right to an education that you pay for and to not be harassed while doing so. You probably signed this right away when registering or something (I know I have to click a box each semester saying I agree to this), but it is still a right.
 
OP has not responded and was active a couple of minutes ago. I call this thread a troll.
:troll:
 
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The Buff OP said:
OP has not responded and was active a couple of minutes ago. I call this thread a troll.
:troll:
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I'm just reading the responses. I don't have class until tomorrow so I have nothing to update this thread with...
 
Jibreil said:
I'm just reading the responses. I don't have class until tomorrow so I have nothing to update this thread with...
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IDK we get tons of trolls every month. I will say this, for the people who said you were in public and it's fine for the guy to take the picture, thats dumb. If you have your kids playing at the park and this weirdo starts taking pics of your kids, you would totally think it's wrong.

Edit:However, it could be legal, but if you caught the person and you felt uncomfortable about it, you can do something about it.
 
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The Buff OP said:
IDK we get tons of trolls every month. I will say this, for the people who said you were in public and it's fine for the guy to take the picture, thats dumb. If you have your kids playing at the park and this weirdo starts taking pics of your kids, you would totally think it's wrong.
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It may be dumb or wrong or whatever else you want to call it. It is also legal and you have no recourse against it. :shrug:
 
milski said:
It may be dumb or wrong or whatever else you want to call it. It is also legal and you have no recourse against it. :shrug:
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I edited my msg, bud. There are some public places you just can't breach people's privacy in public, like a public bathroom.
 
The Buff OP said:
I edited my msg, bud. There are some public places you just can't breach people's privacy in public, like a public bathroom.
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That is correct. Restrooms are a places where you do have an expectation of privacy. The thread is about taking pictures of someone sitting outside, not in the restroom, bud.
 
You can talk to the Pofessor about his too.

Jibreil said:
Today was my first day of physics II and this random creep took a picture of me. I was sitting on a bench while we were on break (its a 4 hour class) and I could see him positioning his camera on me and snapping thinking I couldn't see. What do I do? I'm already uncomfortable at this CC as isn't my home CC. I'm only taking this class here as its not offered @ my home CC. This one is in the city with more diversity I'd say. I'm a very androgynous male that looks very feminine and I get enough stares as it is. This CC has more weirdos that just make me feel extremely uncomfortable to the point of me debating whether to drop the class or not. What do I do?
Click to expand...
 
The Buff OP said:
If you have your kids playing at the park and this weirdo starts taking pics of your kids, you would totally think it's wrong.
Click to expand...

Well now you're moving the goal posts. The situation you described is obviously more inflammatory than OP's.
 
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