Sheaf editor forced to resign over cartoon

Miscommunication leads to calls for resignation of entire editorial staff

Tessa Vanderhart Staff

By publishing a cartoon that offends just about everyone, the Sheaf has ushered in the year of the cartoon. In the week since the cartoon in question was published in the University of Saskatchewan’s student newspaper, Editor-in-Chief Will Robbins has resigned and the story has become national news, leading to a possible investigation by the Saskatchewan human rights commission.

The cartoon, which depicts Jesus Christ fellating a regularly-featured cartoon character, “Capitalist Piglet,” concludes with the caption: “Go on, it’s OK, it’s kosher if you don’t swallow.”

Martin Oiszynski, the chair of the Sheaf’s board of directors, said that former Editor-in-Chief Will Robbins resigned in order to take responsibility for the controversy that ensued. A formal apology from the staff of the Sheaf followed, published in the March 9 issue.

“We’re treating it as a mistake,” Oiszynski said. According to Robbins, the publication of the cartoon was the result of an editorial miscommunication.

The controversy began when the University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union sent an e-mail saying that the cartoon was not consistent with the editorial standards of the Sheaf, and not acceptable to students, on March 3.

Gavin Gardiner, the president of the USSU, explained that when he returned to the U of S and discussed the situation with the executive, a further statement was released, emphasizing the Sheaf’s editorial autonomy and responsibility to students.

“We don’t want to see the demise of the paper altogether,” Gardiner said.

Michael McLean, a Catholic campus minister, wrote to the Sheaf after being shown the cartoon by “visibly upset” students.

And while he said that he values the religious humour that is often present in the Sheaf, the cartoon went too far.

“It’s not even a joke, [it’s] just blatantly reprehensible,” McLean said.

He also called into question the Sheaf’s editorial decision not to publish the Jyllands-Posten cartoons that have sparked riots in many Muslim countries because of their offensive nature, but to go ahead with publishing anti-Christian cartoons.

“What’s okay and what’s not okay?” McLean asked. He added that he received a letter from the Muslim students’ association expressing solidarity.

Several local media outlets have covered the story, and Christian representatives, including John Gormley on the radio station CKOM Saskatoon, have called for the resignation of the entire editorial staff of the Sheaf.

In addition, complaints have been filed that the cartoons violate publishing laws in Saskatchewan, according to Fiji Robinson, communications director for the province’s human rights commission.

Section 14 of the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code prohibits the publication of material “that exposes or tends to expose to hatred, ridicules, belittles or otherwise affronts the dignity of any person or class of persons on the basis of a prohibited ground.”

Robinson added that any investigation into potential violations will wait until controversy over the cartoons subsides, as she expects some of the complaints may be withdrawn.

The University of Saskatchewan continues to take issue with the cartoons; university president Peter MacKinnon sent an e-mail to the university community immediately after the paper was published, and that statement continues to be the university’s official reaction.

“It has divisive shock value only and does nothing to advance the understanding or debate for which universities should be distinguished,” MacKinnon wrote.

“The Sheaf should apologize to us all.”

And the Sheaf did, first with a written apology on thesheaf.com on March 6, taking “full responsibility for publishing the cartoons,” but not before Will Robbins left his position as Editor-in-Chief.

Robbins said that his editorial duties to the Sheaf ended effective March 5, when the editorial board voted unanimously to ask him to resign.

“They panicked,” Robbins said. “Before we had a chance to deal with it, I was forced to resign.”

According to official response by the board of directors, the decision was made over concerns regarding “his failure to carry out his duties diligently.”

He said that he noticed the cartoon while editing the paper, and asked the graphics editor, John Shelling, to remove it, but, due to a miscommunication, the cartoos remained in the paper.

“I can only speculate here, but I think [Shelling] just wasn’t thinking about the cartoon and its repercussions,” Robbins said.

He added that he personally felt the cartoons to be “in poor taste,” particularly so soon after the controversy over the cartoons published in the Danish newspaper.

“Mistakes do happen: this one just happened to be a big one,” said Robbins.

Robbins said that he thinks resignations are not the answer, but rather public forums and an official apology — to the students of the U of S, not the larger Saskatoon community.

“There are far more effective ways . . . than to panic and roll heads,” Robbins said. “It does almost nothing to offer redress to those within the campus community.”

But Robbins said that any controversy should blow over soon, at least by the time of the year-end editorial changeover in six weeks.

“It’s not a very interesting story,” he said. “Controversies come and go, but the Sheaf will continue.”