The saga of the Veritas Café spread far and wide on Friday, with the decision to close the eatery at Wilfrid Laurier University sparking thousands of comments online.

On Monday, café operator Sandor Dosman was given a security escort off-campus and told that his contract with the university’s Graduate Students Association was being cancelled.

At issue, he was told, was a help wanted ad he had written online.

Speaking to CTV News, Dosman described the ad as being “fun, funny, a little tongue-in-cheek.”

Online, most of the attention seems to be focused on its first line, which reads “I need a new slave (full time staff member) to boss (mentor) around at Veritas Café.”

Dosman says he wasn’t told what specifically about the advertisement had caused the issue.

In a statement, a Laurier spokesperson said that school administrators had been approached by the student association about concerns related to the ad.

“Given the importance that Laurier places on being an inclusive, welcoming and respectful community, the university supported the direction that the GSA chose to take,” the spokesperson said.

The student association also issued a statement, saying it was “working diligently on a plan to re-open the café in January,” albeit apparently without Dosman at the helm.

The association also said that it had found other jobs to keep the 10 or so other employees of Veritas busy if they wanted to work their scheduled shifts through the week, and offered them further hours for the following week.

Friday’s online reaction was almost universally in disagreement with the student association’s decision. It included the launching of multiple petitions calling on the group to reverse its position.

One of them was started by Michael Piaseczny, a political science student.

“We want to have our voices heard,” he said in an interview.

“We might not get the decision we want, but we would definitely like to look into the irrational and quick decision that we saw.”

Piaseczny said Dosman is known for being a “humorous guy,” and he saw the ad as being in the same spirit.

Jaydene Lavallie – a Laurier alumnus who left dropped off a message of support at the students’ association office on Friday – saw it differently.

She described the ad as being “in incredibly poor taste,”  saying people working in a university setting have to uphold a higher standard of professionalism.

“There (are) layers of information that people just don’t know, and they probably shouldn’t be speculating on the intentions of the GSA,” she said.

Robert P. Bruce, who was the president of the Graduate Students’ Association during 2014-15, wrote a letter to campus newspaper The Cord saying he was “deeply disappointed and embarrassed” by the group’s actions.

“Where you should have taken the time to reflect on the situation and consider the subsequent consequences of your decisions, instead you acted viciously, apathetically and with great haste,” he wrote.

“I want nothing more than for you to place yourself in Sandor’s position. Take a minute to reflect upon the years of dedicated service that he has provided to you and your community and with all things considered, ask if your actions in this situation were just.”

The man at the centre of the controversy said Friday that the support he’d received since his ouster had been “overwhelming.”

“I think that what happened was not quite right, and it looks like a lot of people agree with me,” Dosman said in an interview.

With reporting by Abigail Bimman