Emma Grosskopf and the Brackety-Ack staff
A story in the Feb. 23 edition of the Brackety Ack gave an inaccurate description of the World Mission Society Church of God as a group that is believed to be involved in human trafficking crimes. These allegations are unfounded, and the group has not committed crimes on Roanoke College’s campus.
The article detailed the accounts of students who had been approached by individuals claiming to be missionaries from the Church of God. The students, who reported that they had been approached at night and while they were alone, expressed unease at the idea of individuals posing as missionaries in light of several rumors related to human-trafficking that have spread from college campus to college campus.
The article that was published in the Brackety-Ack last issue had several contradictions regarding the accounts of these students, as well as inaccurate background information about the actual World Mission Society Church of God, an established organization that is receiving backlash all over the nation due to allegations of human-trafficking connections.
“We followed up on reports and there was no indication that any crimes were committed,” said RC Campus Safety chief Rambo.
None of the student accounts that were published actually described anything suspicious or negative, only the fact that all of the students who were approached were approached while they were alone and at night.
The Church of God is an organization that participates in volunteer services worldwide, resulting in their being awarded several honors due to their service. These allegations against this organization are detrimental to the reputation of an organization that is founded solely in service.
Like any other religious group, the Church of God is seeking members and attempting to grow, and while RC is private property and generally prohibits solicitation without permits, the allegations of human-trafficking are unfounded.
Roanoke College Campus Safety encourages students to be cautious of unaffiliated college groups that may approach them on campus and to never share personal information with strangers.
This correction shows the importance of fact-checking and not jumping to conclusions before conducting extensive research.
For any inaccuracies that were published, the Brackety-Ack staff offers a full apology.
