To the UMass Dartmouth Community,
In the edition of the Torch dated for November 3-9, the Virgo horoscope has drawn a significant amount of backlash, and rightly so.
Our horoscopes are meant to be humorous, and we encourage our writers to push the envelope in all of their work, whether it’s in their opinion pieces or our extras, such as the horoscopes and recipes. We enjoy seeing our writers push themselves and their work.
In the aforementioned horoscope, the (intended) joke that was made lies in the form of the joke. The drawn out, irreverent style was what was intended to be funny, not the content itself. The writer chose a country at random, and did not intend to make insensitive or disparaging remarks about Vietnam, a country that the United States has had a complex relationship with, nor was the intent to insult or belittle the people from Vietnam.
Though the intent to be offensive to the people of Vietnam, and the country itself, was not there, that does not mean that the content of the joke and the effect it had was not offensive. For this, we are truly, sincerely sorry.
The outrage that has been expressed has been righteous. We will do better from here on out, and we hope that our apology will be accepted.