Letter to the Editor: College Republicans respond to 'elephant in the room'


20120307-gop-puzzle
300 dpi Jennifer Pritchard illustration of U.S. Republican party logo depicted as a jigsaw puzzle that is nearing completion. MCT 2012

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Central Michigan Life,

We would first like to thank you for your concern in regard to your willingness to become more non-partisan in your reporting.

This is wonderful news! However, as the College Republicans, we feel the need to address some of your views and opinions presented in the article “Elephant in the Room.”

You state that “The Republican Party has done little to rally support, or remind students that they can be part of the process,” and this is either a mistake or disingenuous. We have repeatedly asked and attempted to share events, views and opinions with CM Life. Unfortunately, these events and ideas have either been refused for publication, or on the few occasions when asked for interviews, we have been misquoted or have seen our answers taken out of context. We are sure you can understand that because of this, there is a lack of enthusiasm for providing CM Life with any type of information.

This is a problem for our group, the student body at Central Michigan University and CM Life, as you have stated. Without the ability to effectively communicate, the chances for involvement for the student body are harder to come across. Without the ability to trust CM Life to report in both an honest and trustworthy way, it is difficult to give students a balanced view on issues.

We do not believe that the reason for reporting on the Democratic Party more often is because of a higher level of activity, but do recognize that the party does a very good job on campus. There is no need for “firing shots,” or claiming that the Republican Party is less involved, because you are not given information to prove otherwise. Saying the Republican Party is less involved on campus is absolutely false, and sounds like an excuse for not attempting to research both sides of an issue. While you need the information to relay it, the job of a reporter is to find it.

We can, however, fix this.

We invite any students (including reporters) to attend a meeting. While the article states that the only information you can provide is the information provided for you, we think coming to a meeting might make reporting a little easier. Reporting on interviews with integrity, honestly publishing events and providing chances for discussion will create a much more open dialogue.

We are always willing to speak and listen to anyone, and we hope CM Life is willing to speak and listen to us.

The Central Michigan University College Republicans

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