That awkward moment when you’re The Maneater’s campus issues columnist and your campus issue of the week is… The Maneater.
Every year around April Fool’s Day, The Maneater staff craft a parody version of their paper alongside their traditional publication. A firsthand witness to the annual April Fool’s edition of The Maneater for four years now, I can honestly say that it’s usually a hilarious exercise by the editors and writers where they can really skewer some of the ignorant student leaders and administrators who attempt to lead this campus.
Unfortunately, this year’s issue does not feature spot-on commentary. It doesn’t make you think about the ridiculous, hypocritical and outright disastrous events that go down on campus. And above all, it wasn’t funny.
The attempted humor of this year’s April Fool’s edition of The Maneater rested on the pseudonyms used for the title, subsections and writers. “The Carpeteater,” the paper’s alternate identity, is just the first of several majorly offensive slurs used to satirize the paper. Did no one raise their hand during the meeting where this was decided? I mean, a slur directed at lesbians as the title of your joke paper? I hope my readers are connecting the dots on this one.
Subsections titles “Campussy” and “Whore ‘Um,” jabbed at women even further. Does anyone know any non-anti-women jokes? No. OK. Hey, remember a few weeks ago when there were TWO distasteful MOVE columns, one tokenizing the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trangender and Queer community and the other slut shaming? Has no one learned how to properly employ satire? Nope.
Many (Way too many. Did you run out of crass ideas?) of the writer pseudonyms are based on “cunt,” for which I hopefully do not have to explain the charged nature of that word as a tool against women. At this point in consuming this big miss of a joke, I feel that the April Fool’s edition of The Maneater is presented as mocking previous outrage against them and now The Maneater staff is embracing a blatantly anti-woman agenda. That or it was written by a handful of 12-year-old boys, which for what is in reality a much older group, many of whom study at MU’s rather popular School of Journalism, is incredibly embarrassing conclusion to draw.
There is so much good that could have come out of a parody edition of The Maneater. Humor opens so many windows for exploring issues in a manner that would be ignored by many. Why do you think political cartoons are such a staple of political culture? As a snarky columnist, I like to think that sarcasm, the occasional curse word and pure caricature can aid discussion of the otherwise boring topics of budgets and Missouri Students Association bylaws.
Instead of poignant commentary regarding tuition increases or, you know, anything relevant at all, the parody paper mocked the dining options at Emporium. Really. Everyone, The Maneater staff’s scope of humor falls within Campus Dining Services and anti-women jokes. What the fucking fuck? If you were going for base, offensive comedy, I would have gone to Campus Basement.
Congratulations, Maneater staff. The campus knows who you are again. Oh, and I hear you’re in a heap of trouble. The remaining copies that survive will serve as a reminder to grow up, check yourselves, go to a Feminism 101 training at the Women’s Center and consider some new leadership. For now, I’m taking my $10 for this column and peacing out.
