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A response to public concerns

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News Editor

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, the photo I ran in last week's paper is no exception.

The photo in question was a full-frontal nude of an exotic dancer performing in MacEwan Student Centre on Mon., Feb. 28. Her real name was not used, her face was covered, and the photos were taken at the request of the event organizer--we broke no laws by running it.

Reaction to this photo has ranged from disgust to endorsement, but the vast majority of people I've talked to are indifferent.

The photo along with the story accurately depicted the nature of the Students' Union's controversial Sexual Health Awareness Show. The event's purpose was to raise sexual awareness in the student body and the SU decided to do so by showing unlicensed adult entertainment.

Throughout that day, the SU received complaints from students, parents and Campus Security about performers walking through the crowded MSC Food Court wearing nothing more than what was depicted in the photo.

In spite of these complaints, the SU allowed these performers to go on stage on Monday evening in even more revealing outfits in promotion of sexual health awareness.

The Gauntlet was invited to cover and photograph an event obviously meant to shock people with its alternative sexual theme.

The show did shock the university, and I covered it in the same fashion it was conducted. To do any different would be an inaccurate representation of an event on campus. If there is one place in society that should be censorship free, it is the university environment.

These performers are not victims, they walked into this with their eyes wide open. The performers were hired by the SU to put on the show, they chose their own outfits and performed in a public environment, in front of both media and the university population. Had this been a private event with people unaware of what they were doing we wouldn't have run the photo we did.

We should be celebrating the freedoms we have in university, not repressing them. The SU tried to raise sexual awareness on campus and, in doing so, found how sorely needed it was.

I didn't try and shock you by allowing these women to walk around naked, the SU did. I merely reported it, and brought the controversy to the larger student population.

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Comments

Congradulations Dale on perpetuating the immature stereotype that many people have of the Gauntlet as a buch of holier than thou narrcisists. Not only did you not take the oppertunity to apoligise to a women who was exploited in order to raise the profile of your magazine, you choose to blame the SU for for an uproar that is entirely your fault. You say that ms. houston's face was coverd in the photo? Guess what, that only works if you dont feature her on the cover! And as far as this being a public event I would hardly consider a closed door 18+ event public. your magazine on the other hand can be found discarded on public transit anywhere in the city for anyones view pleasure. You need too grow up Mr. Miller and take some responcibility for a f**k-up that is entirely your own.

The model featured on the cover was not the same one on page 5.

the picture may have been from inside the +18 event, but according to the article, she was 'dressed only in revealing chain mail bikinis' ...' as they strolled through the MSC food court.' The bikinis in the picture are the same as what she wore in the food court.

Whoa there C__J. It was not the Gauntlet who put her face in the paper. Up until today, there was no name or face attached to the picture. Today Ms. Honey Houston put HERSELF on the cover of the Calgary Herald city section.

I don't think anybody knew who she was - until today. And she thinks the Gauntlet is responsible?

Not only did Honey place herself on the cover of the city section, but in hand was a copy of a book entitled moral philosophy. I would say that oxymoron fits rather well in this situation. Don't be surprised when the moral philosopy shows up with moral lawyers and seeks moral reinbursement for moral trauma.

University teaches a mind to think, adapat, and expand. Just look at how this story has begun to snowball. Then again, this could be PR to boost tips to pay for graduate studies! There is a definate philosophy at work here, but does it really have anything to do with morals.

Final thought, should all the people that paid (in the bar) to see Honey naked be offering her an apology as well?

my 2 cents

I don't disagree that Ms. Huston has not handled this very well, what suprises and annoys me is attitude of the gauntlet. Do I think that it was nessisary for Ms. Huston to threaten legal action and remove herself from school? No. but I also feel that the response from the gauntlet was poor with the insistance that this was everyones fault but their own. The three seconds that the U of C gets on the news every week forms the opinions of many with respect to the quality of the education here. Between nominating a rock for presedent and now this how do you think we are perceived by the general public?

I figure since people are reading my posts here anyway I might as well write this here. Has anyone else seen the posters in ST and SA that read; "Employment equity equals Racism"? some group called the confederate club is putting these up. Who are these guys and how stupid do you have to be to relate "equity" and racism? Just want to know!

"Final thought, should all the people that paid (in the bar) to see Honey naked be offering her an apology as well?"
-Anonymous Coward

I believe that you are missing a very important point. When Ms. Houston was inside the Sexual Awarness Week and when she strips, she participates because she is in a place where only people that want to see her can see her. In the Gauntlet she is seen by a lot of people that don't want to see her and because of that school becomes an unwelcome atmosphere for her.

You stated: "When Ms. Houston was inside the Sexual Awarness Week and when she strips, she participates because she is in a place where only people that want to see her can see her."

I agree completely. But she wasnt only inside the sexual awareness week area. She was spanking some guys ass in the middle of the food court wearing her 'chain mail'.

I didnt 'want to see her' - she brought her show to me. And what I saw in the Gauntlet was what I saw in the food court.

Dale!
My mom called me and told me about this. Rather hilarious, hearing about it way over here, from my mom.

I'm confused tho: Did you run the naked chick on the cover? Or inside?

Is the U of C getting more and more prudish? Look up the Sex Supplement from a few years back... Way nastier pictures in there.

And, has Harvey Weingarten called yet, to express his disapointment? I hope so. He did with the contorted cock on the cover, I'd hate to think he was a hypocrite, or something...

-Nicole

Did the SU consider having male dancers running around naked in MAC hall? Why weren't both males and females "hired" to promote sexual awareness????? Why just females? Sexual health (awareness) includes males and females, therefore both male and female dancers should have been hired, if you want to promote freedom of expression.
Not everyone wants to see naked men at women when they're trying to eat lunch why include it in the gauntlet? I wonder if you would have been so quick to print a naked male?

The gauntlet has printed naked males in the past - and my guess is they would have done it again if there were males at the show.

A couple years ago they printed a pic of "puppetry of the penis" - two males playing with their penises and making them look like hamburgers.

I think they made the news for that one too.

Free Publicity: The Gauntlet is no stranger to controversy but it seems both parties are getting a lot of 'free press'. I imagine this will have a positive effect to Miss Houstons' chosen profession. As to the 'Gauntlet', good on ya! Make people question, make them think, and make them 'crap' or get off the pot!

Clearly the event in question was organized by the SU on campus. Clearly the young lady in question put herself willingly in the public view. So why has the Gauntlet Board punished their editors? One would expect the Board, regardless of how they feel about the content, to defend the editors obligation to report.

How can we expect the paper to treat students with fairness if it can't extend that same courtesy to its staff?

I am deeply disturbed to hear that the Gauntlet's board ignored literally quite a pile of evidence against their assumptions in order to charge, try, convict, and sentence two of its own editors without notice, and in absentia no less.

To the affected editors: Please do not dignify this board's travesty of justice that festers so violently with delusions of reality.

I find it very unfortunate that it has come to this. This issue could have, should have, been dealt with a simple apology. The Studentsí Union owned up to its mistake in letting the models out of Mac Hall into the food court on the first day, the Gauntlet should have apologized for its printing of an unauthorized nude photo of the girl in question. This has been blown out of proportion and has come to this unfortunate end.

Bryan,

Unfortunately, the only two people at the paper who were looking into an apology were impeached by your SU VP Op-Fi on Monday. Good going.

"Please do not dignify this board's travesty of justice that festers so violently with delusions of reality."

Impressive use of the English language here, its a shame that it doesnít mean anything but never mind. I myself am surprised that it came to an impeachment, but as Bryan West said it would have taken a simple apology from the Gauntlet staff in order to avoid all of this. As I noted above the actions of both parties in this case were reprehensible. But for the Gauntlet to place the blame solely on the SU and Ms. Huston was incredibly immature especially for a paper that represents a institution that promotes higher learning. With respect to the male vs. female nudity issue, the difference between the puppetry of the Penis skit three years ago in comparison to this is, the actors in that skit were fully aware of the coverage that they were receiving from the Gauntlet, where as Ms. Huston was not. This is not equality or a free speech issue. This is the life of a young women which has been negatively affected by an article whose primary focus was to raise the profile of the Gauntlet.

Bryan, I think everyone is missing the point here. This girl got up in public, naked, to make a specific public statement. The point of this event was to bring awareness and to reach the masses, which it did.

The point of a newspaper is to cover this type of event and inform the people who did not attend, such as myself. The Gauntlet should not have to apologise for covering this news-worthy event. In fact, if I were the stripper, I would be thanking the Gauntlet for not publishing my face! That was not something they had to do as she in no way tried to protect her own anonymity.

In the end, the event accomplished what it set out to do, it brought sexual awareness to campus, sort of. I am confused as to why this girl would be okay with garneshing attention in person for this event but not from the media.

My question is how many people have now gone to see Honey Houston live? Why publish her stage name at all?
Money money money, moneeeey

http://www.canada.com/calgary/calgaryherald/news/city/story.html?id=d643f440-4e07-4085-a52c-3b5f4f9f8cdf&page=1

hope links work in these forums.
-Dougie

It was her choice to do the show, so I don't see why she's so 'distraught' over it that she had to pull herself out of school.

Honey said that school was the only place where she was judged by her intelligence, not her body, but I guess she screwed that up when she agreed to do the show and wear nothing but a chain link bikini - there are other sexy outfits that can be worn that leave a little to the imagination and would still increase sexual awareness.

This was HER choice, she made it, she has to deal with it. I do not agree with censoring the Gauntlet; however, maybe photographers should okay their pics with the people in them before they are published.
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