By Lori Fazari
Gay publications have been going missing outside the RyePRIDE office, sparking concerns of intolerance on campus.
RyePRIDE has a stand outside its office where free issues of Fab, Siren and Extra are available.
Stacks of Siren and Fab went missing two weeks ago, said Jenn Kuo, outreach and resource coordinator.
“We had just received the, the day before and the next day there were all gone,” Kuo said. Issues of Extra disappeared the week before.
“It disappoints me that that’s one less resource we can provide for the Ryerson community,” said Brett Hetherington, outreach and communications coordinator.
“Originally we thought it was the physical plant [staff] throwing papers away during the nighttime cleaning shifts,” he said.
Supervisor Oscar Rojas said his staff have “no instruction to remove those papers.”
Hetherington is hesitant to speculate why papers keep disappearing. “It is possible that it’s an issue where people are intolerant or homophobic or don’t approve of RyePRIDE. It’s one of the ways to get back at us.”
Fab editor James Fortnum said this is the first time he’s heard of publications going missing. “It’s not unexpected and it’s not pleasant,” he said.
“What are they trying to prove?” Fortnum asked. “The paper has every right to be there and not be removed.”
Hetherington is puzzled no pamphlets outside his office door have gone missing. He’s now keeping only a few newspapers at a time in the racks.
“There is the nil possibility that at night tons of positive people came through the hallway and just picked up a Fab and Siren,” he joked.
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