Dear readers,

For the first time since our founding nearly 122 years ago, The Daily Orange has created a staff position dedicated to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. This position, DEIA Manager, will ensure that our newsroom and coverage better reflect the Syracuse University community from the beginning of the spring 2025 semester and beyond.

We acknowledge that, in the past, The D.O. has failed to live up to the values of diversity and inclusion. Our history includes painful instances of overt racism that harmed members of our community. For example, in 2001, The D.O. published a cartoon that was widely condemned for its racist depiction of a Student Association leader. This incident was one of many moments in our past where our coverage perpetuated harmful stereotypes.

Not only did The D.O. fail to represent diverse perspectives, it has actively contributed to the marginalization of students and faculty of color. We know that our past work has caused lasting harm, and we deeply regret those actions.

One significant moment of reflection for The D.O. was in February 2002, when editors publicly apologized for the racist comic. At the time, former SU Chancellor Kenneth Shaw publicly rebuked the paper for its role in perpetuating a racist atmosphere on campus. In a statement to the University Senate, Shaw called attention to how The D.O.’s actions were not only offensive but also created divisions within the student body.

Today, we are committed to doing the work necessary to repair the damage caused by these past mistakes. The creation of the DEIA Manager position is one step in that process.

Our current DEIA Manager, SU senior Ahna Fleming, is helping to guide our newsroom as we implement the best practices for DEIA into our work going forward. She is prioritizing DEIA education for our staff through workshops, fact sheets about Syracuse’s racial history, and guest speaker sessions with local experts and professional journalists from publications including The Associated Press, The Washington Post, ESPN, Bloomberg News and CNN. She has also developed a DEIA style guide for our staff to ensure our editorial content reflects respect for all communities.

We are also working with the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications’ DEIA Committee to expand our recruitment strategies, with a specific focus on recruiting a more diverse staff for the spring 2025 semester and beyond.

This is just the beginning of our ongoing effort to actively address issues of race, equity, and accessibility in both our internal practices and our reporting.

We recognize that our problematic history has contributed to a legacy of distrust, and we are making active efforts to repair our relationships with marginalized groups on and around campus. We recognize the importance of open dialogue and good communication — we are committed to listening, learning and doing better every day.

Thank you for trusting us with your stories. We’re excited to do this work and we hope to earn back the trust of those we failed in the past.

If you have questions, concerns or suggestions, please reach out to us directly at deia@dailyorange.com or editor@dailyorange.com. Your input is vital as we continue to evolve into a more inclusive and accountable publication.

Sincerely,

Stephanie Wright, editor-in-chief
Cooper Andrews, managing editor
Aiden Stepansky, digital managing editor
Ahna Fleming, DEIA manager

Published on January 13, 2025 at 9:19 pm