Editor, Daily Nexus,

The Daily Nexus made a deplorable editorial decision in publishing the “Drink” cartoon by Alexis Sanborn that appeared on the Opinion page last Friday.

The cartoon offers a recipe for the “Underwear Remover,” a highly intoxicating alcoholic drink – with 3 ounces of tequila! The recipe concludes with the instructions: “Hand it to a lady and watch the magic happen!” The message is clear: Use alcohol to lower other people’s capacity to make responsible decisions about sex.

Given that excessive drinking and sexual assaults are a major UCSB concern, the Nexus’ choice to publish such a cartoon is irresponsible – even dangerous. One wonders how many students this upcoming weekend will be inspired to mix up such cocktails, with the intent of getting others too drunk to say “no.”

This cartoon is not harmless fun. It presents and reinforces attitudes about drinking and sex that have no place on any college campus.

The racial stereotyping of Asians that appears in the cartoon is also disturbing – fortune cookies, for one thing, belong in Americanized Chinese restaurants, not in Japan.

A printed retraction of this cartoon in next week’s Nexus would be an appropriate and responsible editorial step.

We also believe you and your staff could benefit from working with the UCSB Rape Prevention Education Program.