Our campus has a serious problem with race.

This problem is not blatant or in-your-face, but sneaky and cloaked. These attitudes about race bubble up in a "funny" online meme, a whisper to your friend or a simple "like" on a Facebook page. Racism has taken on a new form in the age of social media, and bigots can simply hide behind their screen names.

More recently these misguided attitudes about race have taken a more prominent place. They have taken a place in the pages of our campus newspaper, The Daily Texan.

On Tuesday, March 27, cartoonist Stephanie Eisner's highly offensive cartoon about the role of media in the Trayvon Martin tragedy was run in The Daily Texan.

The cartoon featured a woman sitting in a chair representing the media, a book in her hands read, "Treyvon Martin and the Case of Yellow Journalism." The woman was pictured reading to a small child and saying, "And then...the BIG BAD WHITE man killed the handsome, sweet, innocent COLORED boy!!" The name of Trayvon Martin was misspelled as "Treyvon."

There are several things blatantly wrong with this cartoon. I do agree that this cartoon was trying to convey an important message to the media about rushing hastily to judgement, however, it failed miserably in conveying this.

Let's start with the obvious: a person died. The insensitivity apparent in this cartoon is almost numbing. Parents and family members have lost a child, and the disregard for any respect leaves me dumbfounded. There is a time and place for critique, and this just isn't one of them.

Secondly, the accusation of yellow journalism is completely misguided. To be considered yellow journalism, a story would have to be barely researched, unethical and unprofessional. The majority of media that I have seen dealing with the Trayvon Martin case has been the opposite. It is the media's job to question authority and seek the truth.

Actively seeking answers about a case that is important to the public is not yellow journalism, it is good journalism. Instead of just believing what cops and authority figures tell you, it is the media's job to search for answers.

Lastly, the harsh racial language used in the cartoon is inappropriate. Making a mockery of the dialogue about race that has been ongoing since the Trayvon Martin case is counterproductive to any real change. Even if this tragedy was not racially based, although most evidence shows it was, the dialogue that has been created is precious and much needed for our society.

The tragedy of Trayvon Martin, and I call it a tragedy because when any person dies it is a tragedy, has opened up a much needed dialogue about race in our nation. People have galvanized behind this cause because the injustice in racial profiling is wrong at the core of the human soul.

Even though we do not unequivocally know as of now if race played a factor in the death of Trayvon Martin, the dialogue about race relations in this country is invaluable.

When political cartoons are mocking this dialogue, everyone loses. The bigger issue at hand is shut down and neither side can be heard. Talks about race should not be something to run away from, but embraced.

Oh, and by the way Stephanie, his name was Trayvon.