Issue #16: Fall 2006

Traditions: The Day the Ubyssey Died and Rose Again

By Patty Lai

Easter is a time of spring festivals, a time to welcome back the tulips, the crocuses and the daffodils. It is a time for Dad to buy a new suit, Mom to buy a new dress and little Suzy to get brand new patent leather shoes. It is also a time for Christians to celebrate the life and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Moreover, it is a time of chocolatebunnies, painted eggs and sugary jellybeans. And, in 1959, it was also a time to release another spoof edition of The Ubyssey at UBC.

A “goon” edition was what The Ubyssey veterans called it: an annual issue that poked fun at campus personalities and institutions and the politicians of the day. When the 1959 issue circulated in late March, it caused quite a stir.

As expected on the cover, the The Ubyssey lampooned the university’s fee increase. “FEE ON YOU,” the headline screamed. Students blamed the Social Credit government led by W.A.C. Bennett for this increase. A cartoon showed leading cabinet members burying a coffin labelled “UBC”; the lead story quoted Bennett as saying: “The pot is empty and only Fee can fill it.” This type of satire was biting but certainly expected.

But when the readers turned to page six, it was something else. “The special Easter page” was said to contain “features, pictures, and news stories for the whole family . . . as a special treat by those who don’t care for those who do.” Two pictures jumped out from the page. “Look at those holes in His hands,” read the caption beneath a photo of three cheerleaders, one with arms outstretched in front of a totem pole. “The tomb is empty!” another caption read, referring to a photo of a student and a workman standing beside a crane and a large hole.

Page seven continued the train wreck with a photo of a woman in front of a cave with the caption, “What have you done with Him?” and an article about a small boy who ventures into an empty tomb looking for Easter eggs, saying,
“By gum, I knew if I followed that star long enough I’d find something!”

While this incident may seem tame today, 47 years ago it stirred up strong feelings from the university and the community. Not only did this scandalous spoof make it to the front page of the Vancouver Province and the Vancouver Sun, it was the hot topic on multiple radio stations in Greater Vancouver.

Without delay, the AMS executive council suspended The Ubyssey editorial board and staff from working on the paper. A week later, the AMS urgently published a “special edition” of the Ubyssey attempting to explain and rectify the situation. UBC’s president at the time, Larry MacKenzie, expressed satisfaction that the students’ council had taken the matter in hand. It certainly saved him the trouble of doing so. MacKenzie was angered by the “vulgar, tasteless lampoon” and was more than embarrassed by the extremely critical media and letters that complained about money wasted on higher education. What seemed very much like a tempest in teapot in today’s society wasn’t so in the late 1950s. Although the University of British Columbia was non-sectarian, people did not view it as irreligious, or worse – blasphemous. Residents of British Columbia took religion seriously and were none too thrilled about this blatant mockery.

It was a shock to some that most of the editorial staff was fired and there was a looming fear that this would be the demise of The Ubyssey. However, this was not the case. Former Ubyssey editor Allan Chernov recalls, “I think there was a real fear that The Ubyssey would collapse as a campus institution because after the ‘editorial massacre’ there was very little actual newspaper experience among the survivors. But, as it turned out The Ubyssey’s obituary was premature. We not only survived, we thrived.  The Vancouver Sun lent us an experienced newspaperman to advise and mentor us…”

Remarkably, the misfortune of the senior editorial staff was the serendipity of junior staff members like Chernov.

“I became the senior editor,” Chernov recollects. “It continually amazed me that just a few short months ago I had been a rank novice and now I was responsible for putting out an eight to twelve page newspaper three times a week. It was an amazing learning experience in journalism and putting out a newspaper.”

The story of The Ubyssey’s scandalous edition eventually faded away. The student paper merrily resumed its twice weekly routine, although the “goon” editions for the subsequent years were relatively subdued.

“In retrospect it seems obvious that the 1959 Easter edition was so outrageous that there would be severe consequences”, says Cernov, “but I don’t think the editorial staff had a clue that it would turn out that way.  I think they saw themselves as a merry band of pranksters poking fun at hallowed institutions, that is, doing what irreverent college students always do. Unfortunately, they crossed way over the line and paid the price.”

Allan Chernov was offered summer internships at The Vancouver Sun in 1960 and 1961 and covered the City Desk on Friday nights during his academic years. He is currently Medical Director, Health Care Quality & Policy for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, located in Richardson, Texas.

The Ubyssey’s tradition of the “goon” edition continues today with the end of-the-year April issue. “Martha Magazine,” a spoof of Martha Piper based on Martha Stewart’s magazine, and “UBC Purports,” a spoof on UBC Reports – are two recent examples. ¤

Patty Lai, BA’04, works at the Alumni Affairs office.