Letter to the Editor: The Maneater needs to get facts straight, RHA says

By Bobby Wood, Nate Ballance, Rachael Feuerborn, Patrick Anderson and Lauren Thomas, Residence Halls Association
Dec. 1, 2008

The executive board of the Residence Halls Association would like to address the content of the November 18 editorial "Students must push hard for condoms." Ridiculous sexual puns aside, there are several assertions in this piece with which we take issue and of which we would like The Maneater to be aware.

First, the proposed legislation that was referenced in the editorial was written by one member of RHA who did not fully understand the current situation regarding the sexual health and safety products. The editorial "reported" that the Task Force asked the Speaker of Congress to postpone any legislation until Dec. 1. That is patently false. We would like to state unequivocally that no external organization or other outside influence has any bearing upon the congress' process of crafting or implementing legislation.

The editorial also touches on the right way to do things. A wrong way of doing something is calling someone to task through an anonymous editorial. As a newspaper that appears not to do its due diligence in collecting accurate information, it probably is "obvious that the administration isn't jumping to get the machines installed and they'll take any excuse to keep implementation from happening."

Had The Maneater confirmed the rumors it collected, it would have become clear that the administration is simply waiting for the dispensers to be delivered and are prepared to install them as soon as they arrive. You can't install something you don't have and all you can do is order your product and wait for the company to get it to you.

Additionally, RHA did not threaten to pull its funding. Just because one person says that withholding funding is an option does not make it the stance of an entire organization. A stance like that would require an entire Congressional vote, and even the possibility of pulling our funds has not ever been discussed in any Congress meeting.

The task force is made up of professional staff and representatives from student groups, like RHA. However, most of the actual work for this project was done by a handful of professional staff members over the summer, after the task force halted meetings for break. Students were included in the task force for their opinions as student leaders, which were received and valued by the professional staff working to make this project possible. As an Executive Board, we would like to commend Residential Life and any other groups involved in making this project possible.

Bobby Wood

RHA President

rkwtf7@mizzou.edu

Nate Ballance

RHA Vice President

Rachael Feuerborn

RHA Treasurer

Patrick Anderson

RHA Secretary

Lauren Thomas

RHA National Communications Coordinator

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Letter to the Editor: The Maneater needs to get facts straight, RHA says

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