BY TYLER DALE, OPINIONS EDITOR

Last issue, I wrote a fictitious article about the baseball team and the theatre department joining up to turn a terrible Jimmy Fallon movie into a stage musical.

In the article, I attributed some fictional quotes about the theatre department to Head Coach Jim Peeples which, if real, would have been very harmful. Being a theatre major, I only thought I was lampooning myself and my own department.

The quotes were not made with any malicious intent. They were not intended to vilify or demonize Coach Peeples in any fashion whatsoever.

However, some readers expressed concern that people may not recognize the satirical nature of the Tofu, and if that were the case, readers would question Coach Peeples’ character.

As soon as these concerns were brought to me, I sent Coach Peeples an email apologizing.

He assured me he wasn’t upset, and in no way wanted to hinder my creativity, but he had his own concerns about people not being able to recognize that the Tofu is a parody.

So from now on I want to make it explicitly clear. I will be working with Hillary Kelley, the editor of this section to provide a disclaimer that will leave no question whether or not the Tofu is fiction, and  that will distinctly state the benign intentions behind the satire.

It’s not meant to defame or offend any person or organization. I have no axe to grind. It’s just meant to be funny, and to give Piedmont an opportunity to laugh at itself. It’s satire, plain and simple; and I want to ensure that it’s always perceived that way, because that was it’s purpose when Nic Sridej created it several years ago.

The Tofu is inspired by the Onion, a national news satire organization founded in Madison, Wisconsin.

The Onion’s writers make a living parodying news on a national scale, and on occasion the jokes they publish become misinterpreted as fact, or they may come off as insensitive or disrespectful.

Both of these scenarios have the potential for serious ramifications. That is part of the danger of writing satire, and Piedmont’s Tofu is no exception.

Hopefully this will allow the Tofu to move forward without becoming a problem. Thank you, and once again, my sincerest apologies to anyone who found my last article out of line.

I almost forgot, Assistant Professor John Spiegel had this to say: “Really? ‘Space Jam?’ You couldn’t have picked a better movie? Like ‘Air Bud’ or something? ‘Space Jam’ sucks.”

That’s not satire. He really said that. Sorry to him too, I guess. I like “Space Jam.”