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Member accuses RHA of prejudice

April 18, 2003

MSU's Residence Halls Association members were presented with a letter Wednesday night that accuses the government of representing a "false sense of diversity."

LaToya Logan, former director of racial, ethnic and progressive affairs for MSU's Residence Halls Association, distributed a letter she wrote to the hall government's general assembly. In her letter, Logan referred to hate crimes committed on campus and the lack of attention paid to diversity issues as a whole within RHA.

"All of these incidents were treated by the general assembly, and some e-board members with the same attention that one would give gum stuck on their shoe," Logan wrote.

E-board refers to RHA's executive board.

This is not the first time Logan has accused RHA members of being prejudiced. On Oct. 24 she called out Case Hall representative Adam Raezler after he made a remark about representing the majority, which he said was "misinterpreted."

But the incident involving Raezler was exclusive to the two individuals. This new set of accusations involves the entire organization, and resulted in the resignation of two representatives.

General assembly members remained silent toward the letter at their meeting. A few members said they would like to have one-on-one separate discussions with all people involved in the issue.

Former RHA President Tim Liss said he was disappointed that no one wanted to discuss the issue.

"I can't believe the general assembly has no questions about this," he said, standing up in the middle of the meeting.

Current RHA President Derek Wallbank says he was shocked when he received a copy of the letter in his mailbox early Wednesday morning. He drafted a letter in response to points that Logan had brought up.

"Her claims are ridiculous," he said. "This is the opinion of one person versus that of 77 percent of the student population who voted to renew the RHA tax."

Former Holden Hall representative Cory Rose, who resigned because of the letter, disagreed because he said he felt uncomfortable with the new leadership of the organization and the organization itself. He said he resigned because the general assembly has remained silent on important issues.

But RHA adviser George Athanas, an MSU staff member, said what needs to happen now is up to the representatives.

"These are great learning opportunities," he said. "Individuals see conflict as something that can only be negative and bad, but it's really a great way to gain perspective."

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