Mother complains about Girls of M.U.

Lucy Herman and Jordan Clementi left the calendar photo shoot early.

By Roseann Moring

Published Sept. 22, 2006

The mother of a woman who participated in a photo shoot for a swimsuit calendar featuring MU students complained to the Missouri attorney general.

A spokesman for Attorney General Jay Nixon said Jordan Clementi's mother contacted Nixon's office sometime after the early September shoot for the 2007 Girls of M.U. calendar.

Spokesman John Fougere said Nixon's office will "verify the information" and "see how legitimate it is" and will then decide on a course of action.

Fougere said the complaint was about various aspects of the shoot and that investigators have spoken to Clementi.

"We're still reviewing information we got from interviews we did," he said. "If we determine there is cause for action, we will take it."

Two women, Lucy Herman and Clementi, left the photo shoot early. It concluded on Sept. 8 in the Florida Keys.

Senior Chad Mott, who said he was at the shoot in "a managerial position," said he didn't know why the two women left early. Mott declined to specify further about his role in the shoot.

"It was my understanding they didn't tell anyone," Mott said.

Mott said that though one of the women stayed at his house in Florida, he didn't know that Clementi and Herman planned to leave until after they had already left.

Blair Vandiver, another participant in the photo shoot, said she was friends with both women.

"One left because she realized she was missing school work, and the other left because she missed her boyfriend," Vandiver said. She did not specify who left for which reason.

Vandiver said she enjoyed her time in the Keys and that "it was a great experience."

"The photographer is a very professional photographer, and I was never forced to do anything," she said.

Creator of the calendar Tom Houlehan did not return several calls. Neither Herman nor Clementi responded to e-mails.

The 2007 Girls of M.U. calendar will not be sold in the University Bookstore, bookstore spokeswoman Michelle Froese said. Earlier this month, Froese said that though the bookstore received complaints last year that the 2006 calendar was a "stereotypical depiction of women," the complaints did not influence the decision to not sell the calendar this year.

The 2007 calendar will be released next month.