Gargoyle: A Review
MONDO remembers its roots as a campus paper by bashing those who continue on in earnest
By Siobhan Mildred Watters
Posted October 16th, 2007
There are a few words my friends have heard me say a lot — verbally, on Livejournal, in IMs, and in e-mails — in the past month or so. These words would be "broke," "poor," and "Visa," along with many other combinations of words denoting the flailing and pitiful state that my finances are in. One downside to being broke and poor (in the lower-middle-class way) is not being able to purchase books. The big or small, fat or tall, elegantly or strikingly tailored tomes that catch my eye. My solution is to continue to complain, and furthermore, to take advantage of other means of obtaining the published word.
Today, on my way out of U of T, I happened upon the Gargoyle, sadly, not dedicated to the rockin' animated television show of my childhood, but the student newspaper for University College and one of many published on campus. The paper's front page was not packed with headlines and photographs of Dalton McGuinty, refugees, and Lindsay Lohan; in fact, its "front page" was more of a cover. It sported a single image: the nape and upper back of a young lady who, incidentally, had the word "Gargoyle" tattooed there. However, the enticing and attractive black and white photo was not the thing that sold me; it was because there was no sale involved. But of course! Gargoyle is free.
Turning the page, I found the masthead and editorial section, which has actually been dubbed the "gargeditorial," a title that works better read than said aloud (trust me, I tried it). From the gargeditorial, I learned some uninteresting things about Gargoyle office politics and its managing editor-in-chief — somebody in student paper land owes him money — but also, that this was the year's first edition.
Next, I read (most of) the Gargoyle's politics section, which is actually two pages consisting of three stories, interrupted, for some reason, by pages from the opinion section. This sparse political coverage suits me just fine because I belong to that group of youth that are uninterested in political goings-on, the ones responsible for democracy's demise. However, I congratulate the Gargoyle for publishing a story that married academia and politics, most fitting for a university newspaper. The story, "A Scary Prospect: Reflections on a Proposed Academic Boycott" by Jon Sas, gives an opinionated account of a recent motion by members of Britain's University and College Union to boycott Israeli academics and academic institutions as a means of protesting the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. While reading, I was inspired to volunteer myself as a proofreader (the inspiration is since lost), as it is quite evident they do not employ one now.
In the opinion section, hate is directed towards frats and bike thieves. One piece, a wannabe Onion article but good in its own right, reported the demise of 22 people at the Ontario leaders' debate where a suicide bomber — PC Leader John Tory — donated a bomb attached to his chest. Following several opinions, was an untitled, unaccredited article that I didn't review due to the apparent laziness of its author.
Interestingly, the Gargoyle boasts a true centerfold — a two-page spread of collage artwork by contributor Dan Epstein. The artwork leads into the two dominate sections of the paper: arts and culture, and avant-garg (which works much better, I think, than gargeditorial). In arts and culture, Alexandra Heeney gives a re-review of John Cusack's earlier and, in her opinion, greatest films: The Sure Thing and Say Anything...; and, Benjamin Raphael Reed (I'd advertise a middle name like that, too) writes reviews of singles I've never heard of, but uses allusions that aid digestion. Avant-garg delivers a nice mix of poetry and short stories, and is what the Gargoyle is really there for. Diego Valderrama's and Daniel Giavedoni's comics are funny and cute (I bet they hate being called that), though some details didn't make it through the presses.
Overall, I found the Gargoyle to be a little biased — it didn't reach out to me at all as a co-op student on campus. Of course it doesn't; but in all seriousness, its articles are subjective and there is no clear distinction between its opinion and politics sections for a reason. However, the Gargoyle is "one of many," and is directed towards a small audience, and so, is entitled to its bias. The paper excels as a showcase of student art, poetry, and fiction — even its news articles are purposely fabricated. The names of its editor and writers alone are enough to draw me back, Jon Sas (it just has to be pronounced "sass"), and Aslan Amani.
Verdict: Who really cares? It's free.
Note: Harsh criticisms directed towards the Gargoyle and its staff can be attributed to the author's bitterness due to a recent bout with flu-like symptoms and still having no money. Also, the word "gargoyle" has started to lose meaning.