The Wilfrid Laurier University student leaders responsible for shutting down Veritas Café are now suggesting there were issues beyond a controversial ad that led to the termination.

Last week, operator Sandor Dosman’s contract with the Graduate Students’ Association was terminated and he was escorted off campus by security.

The ad, which was posted in late November on Kijiji and Facebook, said Dosman was looking for a “slave (full time staff member) to boss (mentor) around at Veritas Café.” While there were other jokes about man buns, tattoos and an attempt “not to kill our customers,” it appears the use of the word slave was most problematic.

The GSA has refused to conduct media interviews since the incident. Monday afternoon, president Samantha Deeming – who recently took down her Twitter account – and other student leaders issued a statement

The statement says the group avoided speaking publicly due to legal advice, but “given the direct personal threats towards our student leaders” is now providing more information.

In a letter to Dosman last week, the GSA explained a help wanted ad was the sole reason for the closure.

Monday’s statement suggests there was more to the decision: “Rest assured that in any employment or service provision contract, we would not sever the relationship without there having been clear opportunities for training, education, and personal growth throughout the duration of the contract.”

In an interview with CTV last week, Dosman said he has had a “great working relationship” with the GSA and had no problems with the group in the four and a half years they worked together.

The GSA executive members say they can’t discuss “contractual and behavior matters” the way they would like to. “We honour the confidentiality of all members of our community who have been affected over the course of our service provision contract,” the statement reads.

The closure has people talking right across Canada. Thousands have weighed in on social media, with most disagreeing with the decision to close the café. A petition launched in Dosman’s favour currently has nearly 2,500 signatures.

Dosman employed about 10 people at the café, mostly students. The GSA has made sure their hours were honoured last week and this week. It intends to re-open the café in January, though no details of how that will happen have been made public and there has been no suggestion that Dosman will be part of the café going forward.