A professor in Southern California told his influencer marketing class in January if one of them made a TikTok video that got a million views their finals would be canceled.
Matthew Prince is a public relations executive at Taco Bell who teaches at Chapman University, Insider reported Thursday.
The professor also told students that if he got a million views on a video of himself recorded in the classroom or about the class, the students would have to complete an extra assignment in order to finish the course.
A student named Sylvie Bastardo was eager to participate, therefore, she filmed Prince detailing the challenge in front of students.
She posted the video on February 2 and told followers her professor said if her TikTok video got a million likes he would keep his word. However, the young woman later clarified and said she misheard him, noting that he wanted a million views.
Bastardo’s video eventually racked up over four million views.
@sylvieclaire My professor said if our class got a tiktok to 1 million likes he would cancel the final!! Please like!!! #communicationsclass #influencermarketing #finalexam #college
In a subsequent post, Bastardo announced it was her video that resulted in the final being canceled, adding, “Thanks for all the support.”
@sylvieclaire THE FINAL IS CANCELED!!!! Thanks for all the support ❤️❤️ #finalexams #communicationsclass #influencermarketing #canceled #chapman #college
In speaking of the challenge, Prince said in a TikTok video that “My goal was to showcase the power of influence and influencer marketing and social, and it’s true.”
He explained of his students, “They did it. They really did it. They actually did it in less than 40 hours,” he said, also noting he was glad not to have to create a final for them:
@chapmanu Well that’s one way to get out of a final! See how #ChapmanU students taking an influencer marketing class went viral with their TikTok plea. 📸: @itsmattprince
Meanwhile, Prince told Insider, “I believe finals are just a reflection of your ability to regurgitate information.”
“Students aren’t going to remember any of the questions from a test after they graduate – but I’m hopeful a fun learning opportunity like this could be a memory they take into their careers,” he continued.
Meanwhile, outrage has grown over the RESTRICT Act that is also known as a “TikTok ban,” Breitbart News’s Allum Bokhari wrote on March 29.
“The bill has been revealed as something far more expansive that a mere TikTok ban,” he explained:
It grants sweeping powers to the federal government to restrict the online activities of Americans, imposing heavy penalties on any citizen who circumvents it, including criminal fines of up to $1 million, jail sentences of up to 20 years, and the seizure and search of hardware and online accounts, including cryptocurrency accounts.
The RESTRICT Act, billed as a ban on the CCP-linked TikTok app, is actually a Trojan horse for even more government surveillance.
The bill is never actually about what the government says it is.
Have we learned anything from the Patriot Act? pic.twitter.com/EMnPPlR7dC
— Young Americans for Liberty (@YALiberty) March 28, 2023
Earlier in March, Former Trump official Keith Krach deemed the Chinese TikTok app a “digital virus” that preys on children and described it as being “disguised as candy, but it’s actually cocaine.”
He also said banning the app was a bipartisan issue, calling it “our biggest national security threat.”
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