Opinions

The university responds

by: 

VP External Relations, University of Calgary

Editor, the Gauntlet,

Re: "Staying abreast of sexual awareness," Mar. 3, 2005.

I write to express the University of Calgary's deep concern and disappointment with the publication of the gratuitously graphic photograph on page 5 in the Mar. 3 edition of the Gauntlet. By any reasonable benchmark of responsible journalism, it exceeded community standards and served no defensible purpose in the context of the related news story.

Many people on campus will find the photo highly offensive. I'd also remind you that the Gauntlet is widely distributed across campus and that visitors to the U of C frequently include young children and their families.

The university appreciates that the Gauntlet has a duty to push the boundaries of conventional journalism. It also has a responsibility to consider and respect the communities it serves. All members of campus have a right to work and learn in a respectful, responsible environment.

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Comments

Why shoot the messenger? The Students Union hired a stripper to demonstrate sexual openness in the food court. If anything merits the University's priggish concern, shouldn't it be that collaboration, rather than The Gauntlet's discreet coverage? The paper responsibly obscured the face and concealed the woman's identity. Her allegedly embarrassing identification was strictly due to her giving her name and photo to The Herald. It's the editors' attackers, not the editors, whose slipshod logic is an embarassment to the university. Why hold a university paper to the prurience of a Super-Bowl halftime show?

"... young children and their families."

Conjures an interesting image, eh?
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