LETTER: Emery column lacking basis

To the editor:

Ms. Emery has made serious accusations in her recent opinion piece, and we need to recognize them as such.
   
In her piece, she ignores the statements of church leaders regarding the reasons for the “missionary age change.” Furthermore, by asserting her own theory in place of those reasons, she is accusing the leadership of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints of deliberately misleading their membership.
   
Although Ms. Emery has some cherry-picked “facts” to create her story, she has no evidence to back up the malicious intent. She also has made many broad assumptions about missionary work, of which she appears to have little or no personal knowledge. Her background (which she divulges) suggests that, instead of being a concerned informant to the public, she may have an ax to grind against the church and is misusing her position to accomplish that.
   
I don’t think the Statesman’s staff comprehends the gravity of printing Ms. Emery’s words on this matter. Regardless of the fact that this was an opinion piece, Ms. Emery – in my view – is technically part of the staff, and her words have some reflection on The Statesman and USU in general.
   
I do not begrudge Ms. Emery’s constitutional right to speak out about her beliefs on such matters. However, it is unprofessional to publish such serious accusations against any person or organization by a member of your staff unless you have actual proof to back it up.
   
Should Ms. Emery’s view be factual, then there is a serious investigation to be performed by a credible, ethical journalist. Otherwise, her opinion piece is simply an effort by The Statesman and Ms. Emery to “stir the pot” and thereby increase the number of readers. If this is true, then The Statesman is debasing itself to the level of The National Enquirer, and should not sully the name of Utah State University which it bears.

Christopher Atkinson