A speaking event at Carleton with gay activist and sex-advice columnist Dan Savage was cancelled by the the university’s Campus Activity Board (CAB) after complaints were made about some of the author’s comments.
The original complaint came from Arun Smith, an eighth-year human rights student, who emailed CAB March 6 on behalf of another student. According to Smith, this student feels Savage is transphobic and sexist.
Gina Parker, Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) vice-president (student issues), agreed with Smith and sent an email of support for the cancellation of the event.
“He has made a significant amount of derogatory comments towards various groups and identities, and we do not feel comfortable welcoming him back because of these remarks,” Parker’s email read.
The event, run through the Student Experience Office (SEO), was scheduled for March 10, but was cancelled by CAB without public explanation.
“Our decision to cancel this event was not based on any formal criteria,” SEO manager Jeremy Brzozowski said via email.
Savage is well known for founding the “It Gets Better” project, which aims to prevent suicide among GLBTQ youth by promoting success stories in videos from GLBTQ adults over the Internet.
He made a sold-out visit to Carleton in February 2011 that attracted a crowd of 350 people.
Savage also writes the sex advice column “Savage Love” where his candid style has created numerous issues Smith called attention to in his email.
The examples included the use of the word “tranny” in 2003 and the word “shemale” to describe a transgendered woman in 2009.
In another piece, Savage criticized an advice-seeker who claimed to have been sexually assaulted.
“I’m extremely sorry that you were raped, DRARS, although your baseless accusations of rape make me doubt you when you claim to be a survivor of rape,” Savage wrote in response to a letter, which was published in the Orlando Weekly in 2007.
Adrienne Row-Smith is a second-year philosophy student who also wrote to CAB with complaints.
“By denying Dan Savage the ability to come on campus, we’re sending a message, Carleton as a collective, that we do not believe or support those types of behaviour,” Row-Smith said. “We believe there is a difference between free speech and oppressive speech.”
The abrupt cancellation of the event didn’t go unnoticed by a considerable group of students who had been looking forward to attending, according to third-year philosophy student Phil Desrosiers.
He organized an email campaign directing students to express their disappointment with CUSA’s decision to support the cancellation.
“This seems like arbitrary idealogical reasons, not necessarily popular support or public outcry,” Desrosiers said.
He said the controversy around Savage is based on quotes “taken out of context,” many of which he said the writer has previously apologized for.
Desrosiers said although some students might be offended by Savage’s manner, his disappointment in the cancellation of the event is equally personal.
Growing up with few role models in the media, Desrosiers said Savage became a way to come to terms with his gay identity.
“He can be insensitive, I’ll acknowledge that, but he has done mostly positive things for the community,” he said.
Savage did not respond to requests for an interview.
