Do students mind being used as a billboard for their school?

I'm in Pittsburgh, moderating a bunch of events for the Dramatists Guild and I've tried to squeeze in as much walking around time as I possibly can. On first blush, Pittsburgh gives the impression of a really vibrant and welcoming city for art and artists. Within walking distance of our hotel (in what used to be Pittsburgh's red-light district) are more than half a dozen theatres, ranging in size from tiny to huge. It's pretty amazing.

This morning as I made my up Liberty Avenue in search of coffee, I passed the Pittsburgh branch of Le Cordon Bleu. Huge curved windows open onto street level, providing passersby with a birdseye view of the students learning to be master chefs.

This morning at 7AM they were already at it -- about 5 of them -- each prepping some sort of pastry dough with the teacher demonstrating at the front of the room. Seeing it brought me back to 1997 when I was editing All the Rage (my first feature) in South Beach. On my way to the editing suite every morning, I would pass the conservatory of the Miami Ballet, where little 9 yr. old aspiring ballerinas practiced their pas de bourrees in a similar window-display dance studio.

In Miami, these windows served as a brilliant marketing tool for the ballet. Crowds would stand for hours transfixed as they watched class after class perform their exercises. It seems to me the same goal is at work here at the Cordon Bleu, where I would imagine crowds might find it equally entertaining to just watch people learning their craft. [Too bad playwrighting is so dull to watch.]

I wonder if the students feel at all self-conscious about this. I certainly would. I can't imagine being able to absorb an important lesson if part of my brain was aware of eyes -- dozens of them, and stangers, no less -- trained on me.

What are the ethics of this? Do you think a school has an inherent right to use its students as a living breathing billboard? I can't decide how I feel about this.