The editor’s take on “rape” cartoon
Editor’s Note:
Regular readers of Student Life’s Forum section may have noticed the recent furor sparked by our decision to run Johnny Chang’s editorial cartoon entitled “The Adventures of the Bookstore.” Several readers wrote letters to the editor indicating their dismay that we had printed said cartoon, noting that rape survivors’ experiences are mocked and delegitimized when sexual assault is equated with overpriced textbooks.
I would like to point out a couple of things. First of all, as far as I can tell, Chang’s cartoon simply took the claim, “I got raped by the bookstore,” so popular among University students, to its logical conclusion, thereby illustrating how crass it is for students to persist in using rape metaphors to describe unpleasant experiences. I think most students would agree that rape is not something to joke about. Yet students continually use rape metaphors without giving any thought to the meaning behind what they’re saying.
As I see it, Chang’s cartoon was a classic example of reductio ad absurdum-taking an argument or phrase to its logical conclusion to illustrate that idea’s unsavory consequences. I think the cartoon he has submitted for inclusion in today’s issue underscores that point.
Second, each of the letters we received about Chang’s cartoon evinced a fundamental misunderstanding of the purpose of editorial cartoons within the Forum section, which I would like to address. Editorial cartoons do not represent the opinion of the entire Student Life staff. They are more akin to the columns written by our editors and regular contributors than they are to, say, the staff editorial.
Further, as with regular op-eds and columns, potential “offensiveness” does not, in and of itself, constitute grounds for refusal to publish a submission. We publish many things in Forum which could be considered offensive, and will continue to do so-to do otherwise would be a denial of our duty to provide a space for open discourse about campus-related issues.
In the coming year, one of the goals I have set for our staff is to hone and clarify our policies on all aspects of production, including our criteria for Forum submissions, and then make these standards clearly known to our readers. I look forward to working with the staff, as well as our readers, to ensure that Student Life’s editorial process is as transparent as possible.
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