No Satire In Colorado, Please

Do not attempt satire on the campus of Colorado College. Student Chris Robinson and a friend who wants to remain anonymous satirized The Monthly Rag, a flyer published by the Feminist and Gender Studies program. The parody, The Monthly Bag, contained short notes poking fun at hypermasculine swagger as well as feminist complaining. One note, headlined Chainsaw Etiquette said: “1. your chainsaw is not an indoor toy 2. watch for kickback, fellas 3. when possible, show off your guns while sawing s—t. 4 keep your bar lube reservoir full at all times.” Another note said, “Did you know…?? The Barrett .50 caliber sniper rifle has an effective range of 2000 meters?” Because of these two references, the college convicted the two students of violating its “violence” policy and the chair of the board of trustees has just upheld the ruling. The president of the college, Richard F.Celeste, found the flyer’s content “threatening and demeaning,” though exactly why this unusually flat-footed satire seemed threatening to him is obscure. The original feminist flyer contained a reference to male castration, which apparently did not violate the campus violence policy.

Author

  • John Leo

    John Leo is the editor of Minding the Campus, dedicated to chronicling imbalances within higher education and restoring intellectual pluralism to our American universities. His popular column, "On Society," ran in U.S.News & World Report for 17 years.

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