After the recent controversy over Western University Gazette’s frosh issue, some have been calling for a method of censorship for the student newspaper.
The issue was pulled soon after publication. One article concerned orientation week drinking games, one concerned drugs freshmen might encounter, and one was entitled, “So, you want to date a teaching assistant?”
While the articles are no longer available, on the Gazette’s website most criticism concerned the teaching assistant article, deeming it offensive, disrespectful, and sexist. The issue was “light-hearted,” according to editor-in-chief Iain Boekhoff, but Western provost Janice Deakin felt differently, expressing that the article on dating a teaching assistant could not masquerade as satire or humour and ultimately an editorial board will decide the paper’s fate.
The Gazette made a mistake. An apology was made and the editorial team has promised to be wiser in the future. The editors are responsible for backlash created by their content. So why is the university taking it upon their shoulders?
Student newspapers, just like people, can make mistakes and learn from them. They can’t—and shouldn’t—avoid subjects like drinking or drug use, because these are the realities of university life for many students.
They should publish content students can relate to, with the aim to inform, not to advise. While the Gazette crossed the line, it’s doubtful they will again.
Censorship of such subjects could distance the paper from its readers, and diminish the staff’s editorial responsibility. Student newspapers should keep the right to full liability, at the risk of making mistakes.
