The Ithacan has taken down an editorial cartoon published with the May 6 editorial, “Giving Day success comes at an inappropriate time.”

The intention of the cartoon was to depict the Academic Program Prioritization (APP) process as casting a shadow over Ithaca College’s Giving Day. However, following conversations with readers, we recognize that the image is racist.

We apologize that our content caused harm. When creating the image, we were not aware of the implications it had. Publishing the cartoon was an egregious mistake by the editors.

Our ignorance is not an excuse. It is our responsibility to rectify the situation, and we will begin taking actions to ensure that nothing like this occurs again. As a first step, we will be requiring all editors and staff members to participate in implicit bias training moderated by a professional consultant, but we recognize more work will be needed beyond that. 

As student journalists, we are learning as we do our work. We are not making excuses for what happened, because it is inexcusable. We feel that we have made steps to improving our relationships with communities of color on campus this year, and we recognize that this sets us back dramatically. We remain committed to that goal and encourage feedback from the community moving forward.

Sincerely,

Alexis Manore, Editor in Chief 

Frankie Walls, Managing Editor