Trinity College Dublin Authorities Censorship of Student Magazine Found Wanting of Motive

dublin | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis

Saturday March 18, 2006 12:31

by Le Sybarite

Mainstream Media Sunday Times misses key points and confuses debate about censorship and licence with less lofty motives.

Trinity College Dublin has ordered the seizure and destruction of a student magazine called Piranha! because it used what the College authorities say is “offensive language” in an article about Muslim reaction to the cartoons depicting "the Prophet Muhammad".

“Irish people should know that this type of racism is not funny and in 2006 it is just not acceptable,. Satirical magazines sometimes argue that they are causing debate on issues by writing articles from a certain point of view, but in this case that argument doesn’t hold water.”

Sheikh Dr Shaheed Satardien

Pirana History of Offensiveness, Funded by Capitation

Trinity College Dublin has ordered the seizure and destruction of a student magazine called Piranha! because it used what the College authorities say is “offensive language” in an article about Muslim reaction to the cartoons depicting "the Prophet Muhammad".

All known copies of Piranha!, which is an undergraduate-produced magazine, written in the style of the UK satirical publication Private Eye, were collected and destroyed not because of complaints from Muslims, but out of fear that it would offend their community, and lead to unforeseen repercussions, some of which could have serious legal, financial, and political implications.

The Sunday Times reports that the February 2006 edition of Piranha! carried a piece called "Stinking sand niggers outraged by Danish slight on their towel-headed religion”. This article aslo contained “fictitious comments attributed to (Irish) President Mary McAleese and described Muslims in other terms that the college has since requested are not repeated."

McAleese is a former Reid Professor of Criminal Law, Criminology and Penology in Trinity College, succeeding Mary Robinson, and a position now held by Ivana Bacik.

The Sunday Times also quoted Dublin Muslim Community leader, Sheikh Dr Shaheed Satardien, of Interfaith Roundtable, who said, “students are supposed to be radical and mischievous, but this is stupid. This is not a student prank or a joke. It is supposed to be a satirical magazine. On that basis, the reference to Islam as a ‘towel- headed religion’ is fine, but the ‘stinking sand niggers’ part is blatant racism and disturbing. It’s just not acceptable. Everybody is going to be unhappy about this, you can count on that.”

The seizure and destruction of Piranha! magazine may also have little to do with Trinity College's concern for ecumenical harmony. The College authorities were disingenuous about their own responsibility when they say that the Piranha! editor responsible was not “on books”, indicating he was not a Trinity student, according to the The Sunday Times. This may not be entirely true. "Going off books" is a Trinity term for taking time out from study for health, travel, or other reasons. The "off books" student remains registered at the College, to return later to their place in College. Also not revealed in the The Sunday Times is the fact the Piranha! is produced with the aid of a "grant" from the Dublin University (TCD) Publications Committee. These publishing "grants" come from the capitation fee paid each year by each student for funding student societies, sports, and other activities. If a non-student was heading up a magazine being funded by College money, then College staff heads could roll in the Dublin University Capitation Committee which distributes the funds to the student controlled Publications Committee. Furthermore, the College itself could be liable for a legal action as the de facto publisher of Piranha!, which could be costly in legal terms, international prestige, and of course, damaging to Mary McAleese who recently raised controversy with her comments in Saudi Arabia about the Irish people "abhorring" the publication of the infamous Danish cartoons.

Questions also need to be asked about why past articles and commentary published in Trinity College Dublin student magazines, including Piranha!, that were offensive to women, immigrants, the disabled, homosexualsts and lesbians, Travellers, and to people of other religious persuasion, notably Roman Catholics and Jews, were tolerated by the TCD authorities, even after complaints. Some of these clearly went beyond student ribaldry and were offensive. However, no action was taken.

Piranha! magazine was founded in the 1970's. Past editors include Quentin Letts (now of the Daily Telegraph) who, at the time, wrote several pieces in Piranha! in a style and anti-Irish slant similar to Kevin Myers, Michael O'Doherty, now the joint publisher of VIP and New York Dog magazines, and Nick Webb, who left Trinity College in the 1990's after another controversy with Piranha!. Webb is married to the daughter of Shane Ross, and he now writes for the Sunday Independent.