Another American University has fallen victim to a senseless killing. On February 19, a gunman entered a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University killing five students and wounding 16 others, before committing suicide. The murderous graduate student, Steven Kazmierczak, facilitated the attack at the campus' Cole Hall. Among the victims were four females and one male.
This story is very important because school shootings in the United States have been on the rise, and out of control. It shows the news element of human interest because no matter who you are this story is touching. As a university student myself, I can't help but wonder if such a thing could occur at my own school. It is also timely and has an element of impact given the Virginia Tech shooting occurred less than one year ago.(Newsday, 2/15/08, p. A5).
My favorite story of the week is the exposure and crackdown on school lawyers who have been cheating the pension system for years. School districts all across Long Island have been exposed, and it has been discovered that school officials have been cheating and lying to gain benefits they were not otherwise entitled to. These individuals managed to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars, for falsified hours of work, and time put in. This story has the element of conflict and oddity, because this is a dispute between the lawyers and the state, and it is not something that occurs often.(Newsday, 2/21/08, p. A2)
Arrest made in fatal hit-run accident involving beloved Long Island doctor (Newsday, 2/21/08, p. A5)... Duke players to file lawsuit (Newsday, 2/21/08, p. A15)... Pentagon announces its attempts to shoot down a U.S. spy satellite before it hits earth's atmosphere. (Newsday, 2/15/08, p. A4)... Fidel Castro resigns as dictator and hands power over to his brother Raul. (Newsday, 2/20/08, p. A6)... Long Island emergency rooms are faced with a significant amount flu cases, estimated to have gone up an overwhelming 20 percent from last year. (Newsday, 2/16/08, p. A13)
