The Plumbline

The Plumbline is a humor publication of the McMaster Engineering Society (MES) of McMaster University. Popular among the students of McMaster Engineering, The Plumbline is famous for publishing everything from obscene sexual innuendos to informative articles. The Plumbline was started by a group of Engineering students in 1967, developed from a single sheet MES news letter. In 1971, the editors decided to turn the newsletter into an 8 page tabloid format newspaper.

By the early 1990s, it was clear that student and administration acceptance of sexist and xenophobic content was reduced. In this climate, The Plumbline reformatted, dropping the drooping penis from its masthead, developing the satirical and parody genres of humor and abandoning misogyny as fodder for comedy.

In October 2012, The Plumbline converted to a digital format, due to declining readerships and large print costs.

Some in the McMaster Engineering community feel that the Plumbline is unfairly targeted by the remainder of the campus for its controversial content and potentially offensive subject matter, and that it is subjected to a harsher, more restrictive standard than other on-campus events (such as the misogynistic lyrics of Choclair who performed on campus) and publications organized by other groups (like the campus wide newspaper The Silhouette).

Although The Plumbline is a publication of the MES, the material contained within it is not in any way affiliated with McMaster University, and does not express views or opinions shared by all, if any, students at the University.

Origins

Larry Ireland was the first Editor-in-Chief of The Plumbline (section), which got its name in an MES contest in the spring of 1967. Previously the MES newsletter was a one page bi-monthly publication, which became the first Plumbline issue in April 1967 (volume 4 Nos 1 to 12).

With help of Dean Hodgins office staff, the Plumbline put out a 4 page bi-weekly paper, which started with circulation of roughly 400 copies but grew to more than a thousand (total enrolment in all years & grads of Engineering = less than 700). The Plumbline became the most widely read newsletter on campus, especially in the women's residences. Limited by the technology of the day, the first issues used mimeograph and gestner printing.

Content

The Plumbline also contains featured articles, usually pertaining to current events around McMaster and Engineering, as well as pictures and clips submitted by readers. The Plumbline is heavily dependent on reader-submitted content.

Controversy

In late 2005, publication of The Plumbline was temporarily suspended because of allegations from the McMaster Coalition for Equitable Social Change that the paper promoted hate-speech and sexist attitudes. The Coalition saw the newspaper as a key element in a larger problem of intolerance within the faculty of Engineering. They argued that this is evident in many of the faculty's traditions and "welcome" practices for first year students. According to them, the newspaper legitimized this culture of intolerance. On the other hand, advocates of The Plumbline argued that the depictions were wholly satirical in nature and protected under free speech. Some argue that the opposition was a form of moral panic in response to the rape of a McMaster student within the Engineering faculty and the efforts to minimize the rape and subsequent conviction of Engineering student for the crime.

After a brief period of debates and arguments including review by the Executive of the McMaster Engineering Society, the Dean of Engineering, and the Human Rights Office, The Plumbline returned to shelves. There were a number of changes suggested to the content and a series of sensitivity training sessions took effect. Currently both online and hard-copy versions of the newspaper are available.

Current status

Recent Editors

References

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