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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (June 3, 1998)
Wednesday, June 3, 1998 Media-hype at Thurston adds to children's grief To the Editor: Technology and online courses were the topics last week of a sometimes-heated panel discus sion in the Gregory Forum. Ap proximately 50 students, faculty members and administrators came to hear remarks from panel mem bers Shannon Stiles, David Smith-English, Eric Lewis and me, and to contribute their own comments. I was asked to be a part of the panel because I have collaborated to create an online journalism course which will be offered here at Clackamas in the fall. On a college campus, it is es sential that we create these oppor tunities to think, share ideas and ponder important questions. Of course no one goes to college to be “taught” by a computer, but then online courses are not taught by computers; they are taught by instructors who use the computer as a tool. Online courses are new, they are exciting, and they are popping up everywhere. As an educator, I feel I have a responsibility to learn about this new technology so that I can help my students make informed decisions about whether or not online courses are a good way for them to learn. I feel we all have that responsibility and we can not do that if we instill fear and ignorance about this important is sue. An effective instructor, whether teaching in the classroom or online, encourages students to think for themselves. This should be our charge, as faculty members, in relation to this technology revo lution that is before us. It should be our goal to educate and inform. To do that, we need to be educated and informed ourselves. This technology isn’t for every one. But as educators, we need to try to understand it. It’s a part of our culture, it’s becoming a bigger part of higher education, and stu dents today need to know how it works. Don’t deny that option to your students; they deserve the op portunity to decide - and think - for themselves. - Linda Vogt, Journalism Instructor To the Editor: I just wanted to voice my opinion on your recent articles... I think they rock\ I don’t care what some people say. The flak you’ve been receiving over some articles seems absurd to me. Nothing I’ve ever read in your newspaper has offended me. In fact I have to write a paper about a current event that I think is important, and I’m writing it on this controversy. I should probably get back to that! - Scott Baker, student T To the Editor: I am writing to applaud you to day because you succeeded in get ting a flurry of responses both positive and negative from our campus community regarding re cent issues of the Print. Whenever you compel people to examine their values and ways of thinking you are merely helping them to discover who they are and why they believe what they do. As the former editor, I have firsthand experience in the incred ible amount of time, work and cre ative effort which goes into each issue. There is no such thing as perfection, and I’m astounded by the number of people who require it of others but not of themselves. Few people realize that the Print is a springboard for imagination of the students who not only must carry full-time credits, but also find the time to interview, write stories, implement, design and publish a weekly newspaper—all under an immovable deadline. Although every edition may not be perfect, there is no reason for you to apologize. Only a handful of students receive an A on every as signment they hand in. My native elders taught me that there is honor in doing the best you can every day and some days your best is better than others. - Laney Fouse, former editor of the Clackamas Print ----------- jiJTree ATJVI at Community C< The unfortunate in cident: at Thurston High School in Springfield May 21st has brought Oregon into a state of shock. Dis gusted Oregonians are searching for an explanation to why such a horrible event occurred. Oregonians have It is un picked up their local news fortunate papers to search for answers. What most have that the found however, were rows school ’*/. of black and white ink filled with more emotion than rea allowed son. Words like fear, hope, wolves to and safety permeated the feast print until readers them selves were full of sorrow among and grief. their On Oregon Live, an online version of The Or sheep. egonian, authors Kate Tay lor and Dana Tims wrote a Jacob Bosnisch May 27th article titled “Fear ASG President Lingers as Thurston Re opens.” The story is a col lage of quotes from children, the school, and the community. The authors play at the strings of emotion to attract the reader into knowing less about the event and more about what personal tragedies witnesses faced in the event’s aftermath. Kate Taylor and Dana Tims’ article is an ex ample of the media’s focus on visually dramatic events. What can be more visually dramatic than a Kip Kinkel spraying a crowded cafeteria with his .22 caliber semiautomatic rifle? What could be more visually dramatic than high school stu dents emotionally disturbed about the tragic shooting, and the onslaught of pressure news crews have put on their quiet community? The authors dramatize the events by putting in quotes that have the reader cringing. One such quote was one given by a student who was in the cafeteria during the event. “Every time I close my eyes, I’m back in the cafeteria.. ..There’s shooting and noise and panic everywhere.” The authors also write with a style that seems to distort or exaggerate the actual event. Their Dear Grizzo, I’ve been read ing your column GRIZZO for a long time, and I love it I’ve never felt the need to write in be fore, but I found this great poem tucked in my shorts the other day and I just had to mail it to you so your other read- ers could enjoy it: <poem omitted> -Big Fan DEAR $ % article describes Thurston High as a pool of tears and horror. The authors talk of students feeling : unsafe and they generalize the emotional reac tions students are having over reentering the caf eteria were the carnage took place. The media’s exaggeration of the events have also led to a rash of discussions over gun control and other new laws that do more to hinder hon est citizens than stop future crimes. It is the opin ion of this author that any gun laws coming out of this event are due to the media’s relentless blitzkrieg of blaming guns as the ultimate rea son for Thurston’s fate. One such example is a paragraph that almost sarcastically pokes fun at Thurston’s policy of remaining a high school, not a prison. The authors write: Despite the remarkable easy access Kinkel had before toting three guns into the crowded caf eteria and randomly spraying 51 bullets at the stunned and uncomprehending students, there are no plans to increase security measures. Why couldn’t the authors just mention that there were no plans to increase security? This paragraph is an example of what is supposed to be a non-biased story, twisting words to make a political and social point. I feel that it is unfortunate that the school al lowed wolves to feast among their sheep. The media’s bloodthirsty hunger to extract meaning less, emotional distress out of unexpected young kids and parents brings more pressure, stress and harm to a community than good. The students of Thurston, unfamiliar with the tactics of the media, fell prey to an onslaught of soundbites and stereotypes which have forever changed the way outsiders will regard Spring- . field. Readers have also been subjected to a fas cination with people crying, mourning and try ing to find a hold on life. The-media’s reporting of the event often perpetuates individual grief. Every reporter is a reminder of how horrible the community feels. I feel it would have been wiser if the school and community would have limited the media’s access to the children of Thurston High. I am sick of hearing about their pain and grief. It is my belief that the longer the media hangs onto this story, the more the citizens of Spring field will cry and grieve. The media needs to leave Thurston alone. - Jacob Boenisch, ASG president Hey. We don’t do that crap here. This is the Clackamas Print. Dear Grizzo, You have one book overdue at this time. Please return this book to the CCC library as soon as possible as other students may be waiting to use it. Oí -CCC library Oh, shut up. Is &rGÏF WlwlowWl HtfGS rHI 19600 S. Molalla Ave. Oregon City, OR 97045 (503) 657-6958 ext. 2309 cccprint@clackamas.cc.or.us Co-Editors-in-Chief: Christina Mueller (ext. 2576) Brad Zimmerman Joel P. Shempert John Thorbum Kristina Brooks Feature Editor: Sports Editor: Business Mangers: (ext. 2578) CIa.cka.miis; Federal Credit Union News Editor: Jeremy Stallwood Mike Garcia Photo Editor: Timothy Bell Co-A&E-Editors: Jared Bezzant Alex Mahan Cartoonist: Mark Hoffman Copy Editor: Advisor: Linda Vogt Secretary: JoAnne Gale Staff Writers and Prbduction: Laura Armstrong, Adam Crum, Toni McMichael and Robert Schoenberg. The Clackamas Print aims to report the news in an honest, unbiased, professional manner. The opinions expressed in The Clackamas Print do not necessarily reflect those of the student body, college administration, its faculty or The Clackamas Print advertisers. Products and services advertised in The Clackamas Print are not necessarily endorsed by anyone associated with The Clackamas Print. The advertising rate is $4.75 per column inch. All signed letters to the editor should be 300 words or less and will be considered for publication if submitted by 1 p.m. the Friday prior to publication. The Clackamas Print is a weekly publication and is distributed every Wednesday except during finals week. Wednesday, June 3, 1998
