A thin line: do not cross

Students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign are in an uproar over a comic strip printed in their student newspaper. The Daily Illini recently published a comic involving a student who wants to tell a "Jew joke" but decides against it because he doesn't want "Isaiah down at the bank to beat me with his nose."\nThe comic and its creator, Matt Vroom, immediately drew negative attention from both Jewish groups and students. \nVroom's comic strips have been known to poke fun at stereotypes, but this time he went too far.\nThere is a thin line between satire and stupid, and Vroom definitely crossed it. No one laughed. The comic was seen as discriminatory and degrading.\nInstead of making fun of a stereotype, the comic comes across as hate speech and never should have been considered for publication. \nAs a response to the controversy, the newspaper apologized and suspended Vroom as well as the editor who approved the comic for publication. The punishment fits the crime in this case. \nThe damage Vroom has caused to his own reputation is a serious punishment within itself. Even though this comic was, The Daily Illini editor said Vroom didn't intend to degrade Jewish people, he understood that the content was offensive. \nEven though we think what Vroom did was wrong, he deserves a chance to redeem himself. And readers will be watching closely to make sure he does. \nCollege newspapers are an open space for students to practice journalism, but professional rules and ethics must be followed. Cartoonists are journalists, too. They influence the thinking of the student body. They must follow the same ethics of good journalism and think before they draw.