Ottawa prof wants student paper axed over sex humour
Last Updated: Tuesday, March 18, 2008 | 11:07 AM ET
CBC News
A women's studies professor is calling for a newspaper run by engineering students at the University of Ottawa to fold after it ran a mock sex advice column on anal sex containing "hostile" language.
Friday's column in the Oral Otis, published by the Engineering Students Society, contained graphic references to anal sex, sexual aggression and pedophilia.
'For myself, personally, I think some of the content in the paper is meant to be humorous.'— Rob Arntfield, Engineering Student Society
Prof. Kathryn Trevenen said the article was in such poor taste that she doesn't think students should be paying for the newspaper out of their non-academic fees.
"The language … is really reminiscent of anal rape," she said. "They basically say, 'Don't let her get away. This isn't over until you say it is.' This language is incredibly hostile and incredibly problematic, and in my opinion, not only has no place in a university student newspaper, has no place in a newspaper period."
She added she has raised similar concerns about the past two issues of the newspaper.
Rob Arntfield, vice-president of social affairs for the Engineering Student Society, said it received so many complaints about the issue that it has removed the paper from campus stands.
However, he did not apologize for the articles.
"For myself, personally, I think some of the content in the paper is meant to be humorous," he said. He added that engineers "have taken a lot of flak for being engineers," and are often the subject of jokes about engineers rarely touching women or getting laid.
"I believe that when we take this sort of thing in stride and that sexual harassment, if we dish out a little bit of our own, who's to say who's more right?" Arntfield said.
The society is still handing the paper out to anyone who drops by the society's office and asks for it.
