To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Karissa Arthur.  I am the president of the Black Action Society.

In the Feb. 10 issue of The Advocate, some of us had concerns about the article covering our Find a Mate, Win a Date event.

Some of the words used have a negative connotation and are particularly quite offensive.

The article used words such as auction, bought and purchased by.

Those words implied that we were selling people, or condoning the notion of slavery.

We were not auctioning people; we were auctioning dates, with the proceeds going to the Women’s Help Center in downtown Johnstown.

This is why we asked local businesses and organizations to donate prizes to us.

I know that The Advocate is not specifically to blame for the response that we have received via social media; however, neither the title nor the content of the article really helped our cause. We do not condone slavery and selling people.

We do not view people as pieces of meat to be sold.

We would just like to set the record straight about what our organization is about.

Black Action Society’s main goal on campus is to spread inclusion and give students a place to fit in when they feel as though they don’t belong anywhere else.

We are one of the most diverse groups on campus and strive to continue that legacy.

Our philanthropy is domestic violence, and all of the money we fundraise is donated to the Women’s Help Center in downtown Johnstown, an organization we also work closely with. Thank you for hearing our concerns and allowing us to voice our opinion about The Advocate’s article.