On March 6, The Star printed a letter of mine in which I said ads informing us of the obvious, such as “Rape is a Crime” and “Abstinence Prevents STDs” are both a waste of money and an insult to our intelligence. I was hoping for an intelligent response that could justify these ads paid for with our money.

Instead, I only found Rosaline Harris’ response. Rosie, you stated that “we cannot stop those print media because…they give us the right to get informed…(and) the right to get warned.”

WRONG! Our rights are given to us through the Constitution, not the print media. The only thing the print media is giving us (in the case of these ads) are headaches.

You then try to justify these ads by asking, “Why do big-name shoe companies keep their ads in this paper?” Well, if you really want to know, they do it to sell more shoes. But what does that have to do with preventing rape?

Do you really believe rape can be prevented in the same manner that shoes are sold? If so, then I’m afraid a career for you in crime prevention is out of the question.

I realize the media can influence people’s behavior, but I really doubt that drilling common-sense facts into our heads every day will solve anything. Maybe I’m wrong though. For those of you who didn’t know that not having sex prevents sexually transmitted diseases, or that rape is illegal, I’m sorry.

Dan Lynch

Junior

Finance