Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Campus Free Speech

University Students Get Café Manager Fired for Stupid Little Joke About Slavery

Burn him at the stake!

Robby Soave | 12.21.2016 8:15 AM

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests
Large image on homepages | Laurel L. Russwurm
(Laurel L. Russwurm)
Wilfrid Lauriel
Laurel L. Russwurm

The graduate students association at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada fired the manager of a popular campus café because he posted a tongue-in-cheek job listing for a "slave."

The manager, Sandor Dosman of the Veritas Café, was having trouble filling the position, and thought a more colorful advertisement might do the trick. He had run the café for four years.

"I decided I'd try something a little different, but maybe it was a little too outside," he told The Toronto Star. "I apologize if I offended anyone, that certainly wasn't my intention. I wouldn't have done it if I knew this was going to happen. I have no job now."

Here is a screenshot of the job description on Dosman's Facebook page.

Job
Screenshot via Facebook

In using the word "slave," Dosman was clearly joking. The man also said "we try not to kill our customers" and "man buns and tattoos" are welcome. Come on.

But the GSA doesn't possess a sense of humor. Last week, Dosman was summoned to appear before the student group and informed of his termination.

The university stands by the GSA's decision, "given the importance that Laurier places on being an inclusive, welcoming and respectful community."

Because nothing says inclusion quite like firing a man for making a harmless joke.

Some supporters of Dosman have started a change.org position to get him reinstated.

Start your day with Reason. Get a daily brief of the most important stories and trends every weekday morning when you subscribe to Reason Roundup.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

NEXT: The Press and the White House Gild Obama's Clemency Lily

Robby Soave is a senior editor at Reason.

Campus Free Speech
Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL
Media Contact & Reprint Requests

Hide Comments (88)

Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.

  1. Juvenile Bluster   8 years ago

    Canadian Universities: Anything dumb that students in the US do, you can be sure that Canadian students have already done worse.

    1. Citizen X   8 years ago

      Ya, what's that abote, eh?

      1. EDG reppin LBC   8 years ago

        It's pronounced "aboot", mon ami.

        Also, maple syrup.

        1. Citizen X   8 years ago

          Some Ontarian friends of mine pronounce it "abote." I strive for regional accuracy.

          1. EDG reppin LBC   8 years ago

            Oh. I didn't know aboot your Ontario friends. Soory aboot that.

            1. Agammamon   8 years ago

              Their not his friends buddy.

              1. MikeT1986   8 years ago

                There*

                1. Citizen X   8 years ago

                  The proper nomenclature for a group of Canadians is "hockey team."

                  1. Tionico   8 years ago

                    or when they retire into oblivion, curling. Now THERE's a sport one can watch... for a LOOOONNNNGGGggg time

                2. Libertarian   8 years ago

                  I see what you did they're

                  1. Libertarian   8 years ago

                    *(directed at MikeT)

                3. plusafdotcom   8 years ago

                  "They're"

      2. Swiss Servator   8 years ago

        $%ing Ottawa Senators!

        *puts Blackhawks jersey back in closet*

  2. Jerryskids   8 years ago

    I'll bet it was the fucking Albanians that complained about the slavophobic slur. Those fat nasty hairy wife-beating trolls got no sense of humor, they're mean drunks, and they're drunk all the time.

    1. Jerryskids   8 years ago

      Speaking of fat nasty hairy wife-beating trolls.... Four bodies believed to be the missing men allegedly killed by retired Briarcliff Manor cop Nicholas Tartaglione during a busted drug deal in April were recovered Tuesday on property he rented in Orange County.

      Duterte defense?

      1. Suthenboy   8 years ago

        "Graziano, the Chester chief, said he doesn't believe the department had ever investigated a quadruple homicide before. He was struggling with the idea that someone with a law enforcement background was involved.

        "He took an oath. He was a police officer," the chief said. "This is incomprehensible ... What happened that made him turn to this kind of activity I don't know."

        What color is the sky on this guy's planet?

        1. Crusty Juggler   8 years ago

          Tartaglione was a cop in Mount Vernon and Pawling before joining the Briarcliff Manor department in 1996. He receives an annual tax-free pension of $65,000 after retiring on disability in 2008 ? but he was planning to give up the pension after applying this year for a job with the Mount Vernon Police Department.

          He had a checkered career in Briarcliff Manor. He was suspended in 1999 following his arrest on perjury charges after Westchester prosecutors accused him of lying at a Department of Motor Vehicles hearing regarding a drunk-driving arrest he had made. Tartaglione was acquitted at trial but the village fired him on departmental charges.

          Tartaglione successfully sued to get his job back in 2003 with $320,000 in back pay. He claimed that authorities concocted the perjury allegation as a way to remove him from the force, but his wrongful arrest lawsuit against the village and District Attorney's Office was dismissed.

      2. Crusty Juggler   8 years ago

        Wow. Plus, I've sadly been to that skank factory of a bar before.

      3. Gene   8 years ago

        Tartaglione was a cop in Mount Vernon and Pawling before joining the Briarcliff Manor department in 1996. He receives an annual tax-free pension of $65,000 after retiring on disability in 2008

        Sweet deal.

  3. (((Renegade)))   8 years ago

    Here is a screenshot of the job description on Dosman's Facebook page.

    Ummmm.

    1. Robby Soave   8 years ago

      Sorry, it's up now.

      1. Citizen X   8 years ago

        Pronounced "sore-y."

  4. Citizen X   8 years ago

    What a bunch of hosers.

  5. straffinrun   8 years ago

    "I apologize if I offended anyone, that certainly wasn't my intention. I wouldn't have done it if I knew this was going to happen. I have no job now."

    I wouldn't have done it if I had known I'd get fired.

    1. You ARE a Prog (MJG)   8 years ago

      This guy is too honest for his own good.

  6. Lee Genes   8 years ago

    Dosman was summoned to appear before the student group and informed of his termination

    The GSA is just practicing for their future as congresscritters.

    1. The Grinch   8 years ago

      Practicing for their futures as your boss.

    2. Volren   8 years ago

      Ahem. Parliamentarians.

      1. Quo Usque Tandem   8 years ago

        That's commissariat to you, comrade.

  7. The Grinch   8 years ago

    Why does every damn thing get a change.org petition now and has it ever done a damn bit of good? If they hire the guy back (they won't) there'll be a petition up that same day on the same site asking for him to be fired.

    1. Swiss Servator   8 years ago

      *tunes up banjo*

      Dueling Petitions

      1. Tionico   8 years ago

        dualling petitions

  8. Cyto   8 years ago

    Hey! Here's something newsworthy.... I stumbled across a political cartoon that was actually funny and had something to say!

    1. Libertarian   8 years ago

      Needs more Olbermann and Dunham.

      1. Citizen X   8 years ago

        Nobody needs more Olbermann or Dunham.

    2. Swiss Servator   8 years ago

      You have to wait for Friday Funnies, man!

    3. Citizen X   8 years ago

      Needs more labels.

  9. Mickey Rat   8 years ago

    I do not expect that a manager of a company cafe would survive making that kind of joke in a employment ad either.

    The humorlessness of that state of affairs may be regrettable, but I do think it should considered unusual or unexpected.

    1. D.D. Driver   8 years ago

      Bottom line: people need to stop doing stuff. Period. It's just not worth it and it's probably racist.

  10. Rufus The Monocled   8 years ago

    If you purposely take someone's right to earn a living away based on stupidity, that makes you evil. Full stop.

    1. Rich   8 years ago

      Well said.

  11. Entropy Drehmaschine Void   8 years ago

    "Forget it Robby, it's Zoolander's Kanukistan."

  12. Libertarian   8 years ago

    Perhaps the graduate *history* students could inform their peers that slavery hasn't always been a black/white thing.

    1. Volren   8 years ago

      Everyone knows history began when a bunch of oppressive white guys took over the world.

    2. Johnimo   8 years ago

      Yes, yes, yes! But this "evil" joke was definitely "black" humor. Can't this poor rube be sent to the hinterlands for reprogramming?

      1. FreeToFear   8 years ago

        Jesus man, he's already in Canada... how much more "hinterlands" can you get?

        1. Tionico   8 years ago

          Hudson's Bay?

    3. Berserkerscientist   8 years ago

      The only significant slave owners in Canada were NATIVES. Rival tribes would take slaves.

  13. J Ortega y Gasset   8 years ago

    Every time a person gets fired for making a non-PC joke, a bureaucrat gets its wings.

    1. Entropy Drehmaschine Void   8 years ago

      Are there any "PC jokes"?

      Aside from Bernie Sanders, of course ...

      1. Volren   8 years ago

        I think anything about dads or white guys is still ok.

      2. Citizen X   8 years ago

        Didn't Bernie get yelled at by social justice peeps for not being PC enough? That in itself is a pretty funny joke. Almost as funny as (though less tragic than) calling oneself a "socialist" despite the example of the 20th century.

      3. Rich   8 years ago

        Are there any "PC jokes"?

        The Pope, the Dalai Lama, and President Obama walk into a bar.

        The bartender says, "What is this, a joke?"

        1. Citizen X   8 years ago

          That's not funny.

          /SJW

        2. The Grinch   8 years ago

          Are you implying Catholics, Buddhists, and Muslims would never hang out? I'm offended.

        3. Tionico   8 years ago

          the FUNNY bit of that one is that two out of the three NEVER would walk into a bar. The pope wou;dn't go unless he could be driven in his Popemobile, Obama would just HAVE to take Air Farce Won, only the Dalai Lama would walk in, then sit on the floor and ask for a cup of tea.

      4. Entropy Drehmaschine Void   8 years ago

        Are there any "PC jokes"?

        Aside from Bernie Sanders, of course ...

        ... and, apparently from today's linques: also Lena Dunham ...

  14. Agammamon   8 years ago

    Some supporters of Dosman have started a change.org position to get him reinstated.

    Ooooh! A petition! He's as good as gotten the job back already.

    1. Citizen X   8 years ago

      You're fired from Hit'n'Run for fucking up the block quotes.

      1. Agammamon   8 years ago

        You're fired from Hit'n'Run for fucking up the block quotes.

        You can't fire me, I QUIT!

  15. Rich   8 years ago

    And how many university mothers will slave over a hot stove this Christmas, one wonders.

    1. LarryA   8 years ago

      After they do all the laundry.

  16. Rich   8 years ago

    Alt-text: "What is my gender?"

  17. Princess Trigger   8 years ago

    Some supporters of Dosman have started a change.org position to get him reinstated.

    On quick reading that sentence, I thought they were petitioning to have him 'arrested'. Which totally make sense.
    FUCK OFF SLAVER!

  18. Crusty Juggler   8 years ago

    I can't even with the white privilege in this article. Wow. Just wow.

  19. The Late P Brooks   8 years ago

    He's, like, got the lingo down, eh?

  20. The Late P Brooks   8 years ago

    Because nothing says inclusion quite like firing a man for making a harmless joke.

    If only he could prove his innocence.

  21. Bill Dalasio   8 years ago

    Do you want to stop nonsense like this? Simple. Find out who each and every member of the leadership of the GSA is and publish their names. Find out who recruits at Laurier University and make each and every recruiter know exactly who they'd be hiring if they decide to bring any of these people on board. Let every major graduate program know exactly what they'd be inviting to their universities if they admitted them. While you're at it, send a full explanation of the situation to the little bastards' parents. In short, make their lives hell. Make them unemployable. They certainly don't have any qualms about doing it to other people. So, let them be on the receiving end of having their live ruined.

    1. tarran   8 years ago

      Here are the relevant websites:

      The management team

      The operations team

      1. tarran   8 years ago

        Samantha Deeming
        Official Title: President and Chief Executive Officer
        Favourite Quote: "Not all those who wander are lost"
        Favourite Book/Movie: Anything Disney
        Hobbies: Soccer
        Best Grad School Advice: Do something for yourself; something you really enjoy.
        GSA Role: My role as President is to be the representative voice for graduate students across all locations. I focus on advocacy pieces that impact graduate students directly as well as oversee the daily functions of the GSA and the programming designed by the operations team to better the graduate student experience.
        Contact: sdeeming@wlugsa.ca

      2. tarran   8 years ago

        Debashish Mondal
        Official Title: Vice President: Corporate Services
        Favourite Quote: "Anything worth doing is worth doing better"
        Favourite Movie/Book: Gandhi
        Best Grad School Advice: Every day is a new day with new luck and a new beginning
        Hobbies: Going to concerts, soccer, Formula1, and Reading
        GSA Role: Manage relationships with Club Presidents and collaborate operations within the team.
        Contact: dmondal@wlugsa.ca

      3. Bill Dalasio   8 years ago

        Rebecca Friesdorf
        Official Title: Vice President: Student Experience
        Favourite Quote: "Don't compare your beginning to someone else's middle" - Jon Acuff
        Favourite Movie/Book: Be Extraordinary
        Best Grad School Advice: Be social (meet new friends, step outside your comfort zone, come to GSA events!)
        Hobbies: Swimming, shopping and singing in the shower.
        GSA Role: Organize social events, construct communication materials and develops health and wellness programs.
        Contact: ngleba@wlugsa.ca

      4. Bill Dalasio   8 years ago

        Ellen Menage
        Official Title: Executive Director & COO
        Favourite Quote: Decisions are made by those who show up
        Favourite Movie/Book: Sweet Home Alabama
        Best Grad School Advice: Remembering that there are many others who feel the way you feel - you are not alone.
        Hobbies: watching sports, talking about sports, and planning trips to Disney
        GSA Role: Assisting GSA Management and Operations teams with reaching their goals, providing support to the GSA.
        Contact: emenage@wlugsa.ca

        1. Tionico   8 years ago

          you made all of these up, didn't you? Come on, out with it.... these are hilarious bios.....

      5. Quo Usque Tandem   8 years ago

        A rogues gallery of SJWs; this is what they look like people. Pretty young women, fat middle aged bag, and a multi-cultural dude. They come in all shapes and sizes but share an agenda. And there seems to be an inordinate interest in Disney.

    2. Quo Usque Tandem   8 years ago

      You've been reading Vox Day, haven't you? Give them better than you got!

  22. Robert   8 years ago

    Slave off, yucker!

  23. You ARE a Prog (MJG)   8 years ago

    Are we sure the objection was with "slave," and not the terribleness of the ad as a whole?

    1. GILMORE?   8 years ago

      If painfully-corny, strained humor were grounds for dismissal, corporations would have no middle-management.

  24. Somebody else   8 years ago

    He got your/you're wrong. I think think they accidentally got it right this time. Its clear this man is a monster. Those kinds of mistakes are inexcusable. Burn him.

  25. Empress Trudy   8 years ago

    Everyone accepting any job on any college campus should be caned. One time. Before they start. Just get that out of the way first.

  26. FriedFish2   8 years ago

    I'm surprised that being IN Canada and ON a University campus he was shocked that people called for his head on a platter for that post. I do not agree with PC speak but that was platinum level stupid.

  27. Alan@.4   8 years ago

    When the inmates take over the asylum, trouble brews.

  28. AD-RtR/OS!   8 years ago

    What can you expect, it's Canada!

  29. Tionico   8 years ago

    He seems to know his craft and the business. No delusions there. His sense of homour (see how inclusive I am? I can even write in Canadian when talking about them) will help the "staff" (what an ugly word for humans, eh?) (seem there I go again being inclusive) keep a great attitude in the press (trigger warning there.....) of the daily grind.

    If I were he I'd keep walking. There has to be someone out there in want of a seasoned manager such as he seems to be. Let Stinky Humourless (he strikes again.....) Educrats find another slave-by-another-name. Maybe having to live with their own intolerance for a season will give them an USEFUL education. This man deserves better and should have little trouble finding it.

  30. CraigL   8 years ago

    Totalitarians are always such fun people. Lots of laughs around Stalin. Just joking and funning around. When every word and action is political and mob rule is the proper procedure...yikes!

  31. LarryA   8 years ago

    "Totally justified SJW firing. I mean really. Why should an Institution of Higher Education have to put up with someone who still has something to learn?"

  32. MarconiDarwin   8 years ago

    Wow! What a bunch of thin-skinned libertarians, freely associating and acting without involving any gubmint to oust someone offending their delicate sensibilities.

    MUSTABEEN some liberal professor in his echo chamber urging them to do this.

    Laurier ethics professor Byron Williston penned a scathing open letter to the graduate students association, accusing them of acting like "spoiled children."
    "I suppose it's a sign of the times, especially on university campuses whose student bodies ? undergraduate and graduate ? seem to have been taken over by the terminally thin-skinned and self-righteous," Williston wrote. "Perhaps you should direct your moral outrage at some of the many real problems in the world rather than behaving like petty bullies."

    Williston said the termination was a gross overreaction to a joke, even if it was in poor taste.

    "I wrote the letter because I think the operator has been morally wronged. I think it's important for somebody to speak out for him," he said in an interview.

    What is the world coming to? A group of people independently decides to bring the full force of the market into not letting some politically incorrect contractor continue. For this, a libtard professor is chastizing them?

    For shame, Canada!

Please log in to post comments

Mute this user?

  • Mute User
  • Cancel

Ban this user?

  • Ban User
  • Cancel

Un-ban this user?

  • Un-ban User
  • Cancel

Nuke this user?

  • Nuke User
  • Cancel

Un-nuke this user?

  • Un-nuke User
  • Cancel

Flag this comment?

  • Flag Comment
  • Cancel

Un-flag this comment?

  • Un-flag Comment
  • Cancel

Latest

How Trump's Tariffs and Immigration Policies Could Make Housing Even More Expensive

M. Nolan Gray | From the July 2025 issue

Photo: Dire Wolf De-extinction

Ronald Bailey | From the July 2025 issue

How Making GLP-1s Available Over the Counter Can Unlock Their Full Potential

Jeffrey A. Singer | From the June 2025 issue

Bob Menendez Does Not Deserve a Pardon

Billy Binion | 5.30.2025 5:25 PM

12-Year-Old Tennessee Boy Arrested for Instagram Post Says He Was Trying To Warn Students of a School Shooting

Autumn Billings | 5.30.2025 5:12 PM

Recommended

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2024 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

r

Do you care about free minds and free markets? Sign up to get the biggest stories from Reason in your inbox every afternoon.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

This modal will close in 10

Reason Plus

Special Offer!

  • Full digital edition access
  • No ads
  • Commenting privileges

Just $25 per year

Join Today!