On Tuesday, November 5, The Triton published UCSD’s Haute Halloween under a different headline using a racial slur. After publishing the article, one of our readers alerted us to the slur, and we promptly updated the article with a new headline.
The original headline was “UC Spook Diego.” The word “spook” originally meant ghost, spectre, or apparition. According to NPR Code Switch, the word was used after World War Two to refer to Blackness, before being co-opted as a racial slur. As Managing Editor, I apologize on behalf of The Triton for our ignorance and I promise we will be more mindful of the language we choose and how it impacts our readers.
Diversity is of the utmost importance to The Triton. We currently reference the Diversity Style Guide and other relevant guides to ensure our language is sensitive to our readers. In this case, that was not enough. We’ve updated our style guide to ensure that we don’t use this word and we will be more proactive about educating ourselves in the future.
I want to thank our readers for pointing this error out to us and I apologize for failing the campus community we serve. I always appreciate feedback from our readers as it helps us grow as a paper. If you have any feedback, please email me at managing@triton.news, or schedule a meeting.
Sincerely,
Ethan Edward Coston
2019-20 Managing Editor