Robert Helsley, Dean of the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia felt like he had egg on his face after it came to light that the frosh at his school had made chants that were tantamount to rape jokes, at least in the eyes of the public.

Apparently he recoiled every time he saw something on the internet that connected his, uh, good name to rape culture, rape apology or whatever noun du jour is being attached to the word rape at your typical university these days. And of course he proceeded to remedy his personal embarrassment the only way the average insulated academician knows how. He wanted to throw money (someone else’s of course) at the problem and feed the rape hysteria (how do you like that for a noun?) with a huge chunk of the school’s Commerce Undergraduate Society’s annual budget.

The only problem is that he needed the student’s permission to make good on his promise to give away their money.

They said no.

His response? Well, better to just let you have it straight from the mouth of the horse’s ass.

Hello, In September, I spoke publicly about how disappointed I was in Sauder students for participating in frosh week chants, which, among other things, made light of rape. In an attempt to salvage something good out of this mess, I made a public promise that we would put $250,000 towards sexual assault counselling and education services. The board of directors of the Commerce Undergraduate Society has already contributed $50,000, but since we would be using part of the CUS’s $850,000 annual budget to fund the remaining $200,000, we had to approve it through a student referendum. And you, Sauder students, just failed that referendum. Overwhelmingly. So let me try to explain how I feel about this situation in a different way. Let me try to explain what I meant through a thought exercise. Imagine for a moment that the Sauder School of Business is not in fact an educational institution, but a company — much like a company that you might one day hope to work for. And let’s imagine that I’m your boss. There are other bosses, too. The undergraduate society president, he’s your boss. So are your professors. But, you see, I am their boss. When your boss tells you to do something, it is in the company’s best interest that you do that thing to the best of your ability. Because it is in the company’s best interest that this thing be done, it is in your best interest as well. Sometimes, the things I tell you to do may sound like suggestions. Sometimes I might say, “It would be great if you could complete x task within a given time period.” But funding this counselling position to make up for joking about rape, while there is a sexual predator at large on campus? That wasn’t a suggestion. Now, some of you might say, “Hey, will this position really do any good, considering there are similar resources on campus already?” You might say that makes this a PR stunt. To those people, I say: bing-fucking-o. Now, let me explain the position in which I, your boss, find myself. I find myself looking foolish on the evening news. I find myself searching the name of my school and having “rape chant” pop up first in the search bar. I find myself mentioned in the same breath as a roving perpetrator. In short, I find myself looking like an asshole. When your boss feels like an asshole, he tends to make the people around him feel like assholes, too. Going back to Sauder as business analogy: you are all fired. All of you. Enjoy the rest of your week. You have two days to clear out your belongings. Robert Helsley

Dean

Sauder School of Business

University of British Columbia

So there you have it. Dean Helsly wanted to blow a quarter of a million dollars of student’s money to allay his personal embarrassment over a fucking frosh chant that got too much media attention, and when they said no he resorted to bullying and public humiliation.

Doesn’t he know that no means no?

The students voiced their will through a democratic process, and Helsly reacted by letting them know that if he could he would retaliate against them for those votes; that he would, in fact, crush them.

I understand that Helsly is embarrassed. After all, in Rape Hysteria Culture a frosh week chant can go places no sane person could actually predict. But what is really interesting is that while Helsly is obviously uncomfortable seeing his name anywhere near the antics of some unruly freshman, he obviously has no concern whatsoever revealing himself publicly and proudly as indifferent to the collective will of his students, pettily resentful of the democratic process and thuggishly willing to play dictator, collective will and democracy be damned.

He has no issue at all taking the perception that he might be a foolish asshole, and proving it beyond all doubt squarely in the public arena.

Hint for you, Robert. Even bosses can be fired; especially the arrogant asshole type bosses who mistake their organizations as an instrument of personal vanity and who mistake tyranny for leadership skills.

You want a real reason to be embarrassed? Read your own letter. You ought to be ashamed.

Oh, and a special note to Sauder students. If you think feminism is a movement for social justice, think again. Feminism is the establishment now. It is the man. And the man just crapped all over you.