Counterpoint: Gate House is dead, long live Gate House (Quit Whining)

Many students are aware that university life is not fully or realistically represented by films such as Animal House or Van Wilder. To anyone shocked by this revelation, I need only reference my own sad realization years ago that high school was not quite Saved by the Bell. Anyone who tries to live the sensational scenes and scenarios presented on the television screen is bound to run into the hard wall of reality sooner or later. The testimony that pranks of all sorts and origins - from the venerable panty raid to this past term's Roast Pork Special - are invariably defended by the instigators with insensitivity to the fact that someone out there just might be shocked or offended by their actions. Granted, the Gate House members who orchestrated the most publicized prank on an unsuspecting Annesley resident appear, by all accounts, to have had no malicious intent, merely looking for a good joke with a ridiculous punch line. Unfortunately, two persons' sense of humour can be as different as their favourite television program.

This line of reasoning invariably brings up the topic of political correctness, and what should or should not be "allowed" to be funny. Do not let my last comments cloud my argument; constantly treading an undefined line in fear of offending an ethereal prude's sensibility is certainly an odious affair. Poking fun at topics that society or a community feel uncomfortable about is often the best way to make light of it and move on. Unfortunately, continual insistence that no harm was intended can do little to alleviate the fact that harm, whether physical or emotional, may have been inflicted. If you have offended someone, and cannot understand why, to me that means the joke has fallen flat. Good comedians are funny to people other than themselves and their running mates.

Furthermore, I doubt that any sensible Victorian argues that a racist, sexist, or homophobic prank is acceptable. Unfortunately, a joke can be none of these things, and still either offend or frustrate some individual. Avoiding these extreme cases doesn't give any other behaviour a green light; judgement is far more context-sensitive and difficult to define, I'm afraid.

Let me make it clear that a majority of the behaviour picked up by The Toronto Star is probably not the driving material behind the Gate House closing. Banging the food hall tables, while childish, is nothing momentous. The eight-foot snow cock was the funniest (and most anatomically conscious) winter obelisk I have seen in years, and likely won coverage mainly due to the fact that it was a fantastic photo opportunity. However, the list of complaints laid at the feet of Victoria College's administration is reportedly lengthy; their details shrouded in hushed whispers and constricted jaws. I can only speculate that for the majority of these complaints, someone was pissed.

Despite the impassioned appeal of my friend and compatriot editor in a past edition of The Star, rampant alcoholism does not have to be a rite of passage, either for those our age or any others. The dominant culture in North America (and other regions, I gather) that the best way to have fun is to drink until drunk is not shared by all of its inhabitants - and I'm sorry, but this is not simply because they haven't tried it yet. There are other ways to enjoy life, whether you believe it or not. We should not be afraid of being labelled a hermit if we prefer to curl up to a good book, or a nerd if fragging Night Elves online is our chosen form of social interaction. Such judgments are more suited to high school mentalities, if that. If we really consider ourselves a burgeoning new population with social awareness, multiculturalism and all those other ideals, why does the lure of alcoholic intoxication still grip so many of us? The perception that until one gets shitfaced one night, they have not yet lived is myopic.

Finally, an argument that I suspect will be unpopular, as even I do not like it all that much. We are here at the University of Toronto to prepare for a future in this world, professional or otherwise. We are here to learn, both academically and socially. The academic aspect of this life is often greater than we would like it to be, true. However, the optimal goal should be a comfortable balance between learning in a freer social environment that we have previously experienced (especially our first-year neophytes) and the growing academic rigors. We are being prepared to a fast-forwarded, work-intensive world. It pains me to speculate that perhaps there is no ideal time in our lives that we can throw away entirely to the bar (or the cute barmaid). As we progress through our undergraduate and perhaps graduate degrees, the academic side often overshadows the social, but by then each student who finds himself or herself still staring at dissertations-in-progress has hopefully made the conscious choice to follow this path. I suspect most of us have come to U of T for its academic reputation; if we truly desire more years of pranks and debauchery, several institutions nearby and abroad are more than happy to oblige.

I cannot be so ignorant as to paint all former Gate House members as misogynistic fools. The individuals who earned the ire of the Victoria administration this term should neither be expected to be babysat by their neighbours. Unfortunately in invoking the 'spirit of Gate House' behind their actions, they had created an idol that the administration felt necessary to slay.

The rambunctious behaviour and perceived sense of brotherhood of the former Gate House members is neither astoundingly unique, nor should it be fragile enough to evaporate upon their reassignments, if their projected fervour is any bit authentic. I do not think the individuals have been barred from public association with each other. This term, they do not live on opposite sides of one wall or hallway. They'll get over it.