When an organization doesn’t have a leader, it’s hard to be effective. That particular group’s mission doesn’t have someone at the forefront to guide and really make a difference.

Since the beginning of last fall, this has been the case for the Women’s Resource Center. This will soon change as the second round of interviews for the director position is happening today.

The Women’s Resource Center has traditionally been the operation of only a few dedicated workers and student volunteers. But more than 60 percent of this campus is made up of women.

Last semester, a haunting FlashLine message appeared in our inboxes and got us talking: a sexual assault had possibly taken place on or near campus, but the woman decided not to file a report. More than half of sexual assaults go unreported. This report came as a surprise to many who are completely oblivious to the issue of the sexual assault at Kent State.

When events such as this happen, it would have been reassuring to see supporters of the Women’s Resource Center on campus sharing information with the student body, rather than fear. There was a chance for education.

There was none.

But without a leader at the time, it would have been difficult to mobilize this kind of action. Hopefully, with a new leader, these kinds of educational opportunities won’t pass the community by.

The Women’s Resource Center goes beyond simply educating the university community about sexual abuse. The center also provides information about date safety, breast cancer and domestic violence. It also coordinates on-campus mammograms, as well as provides the campus community with “healthy hook-up kits,” which include some handy information and a condom.

With the selection of a new director, we hope the Women’s Resource Center will be able to go to the next level. We hope these candidates have plenty of ideas they can bring to the table. But ideas are only ideas if they don’t have the support of the student body as well as the administration.

So for those relaxing on the second floor of the University Library in the executive suites, we’re asking you to put your heart and maybe a little bit of your wallet behind the Women’s Resource Center. This is a place on campus that deserves the proper resources and a qualified director. And for students who probably don’t have the means to financially back the center, all we’re asking is that you extend your support.

So if you have time today, drop by the interviews in the Student Center to hear what some of the candidates have to say. We’re not just asking you to just stand by and listen to someone’s job interview; we’re asking you to put your heart behind a very important resource on our campus.

The above editorial is the consensus on the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.