A gunman dressed in black, firing two handguns and a shotgun, killed five people and injured several others before committing suicide this week at Northern Illinois University. At least 18 people were wounded, six deemed in critical condition, as of the date this article was published. All classes were cancelled immediately after and the 25,000-student campus was closed the next day. School counselors urged students to call their parents “as soon as possible” and offered them counseling. Northern Illinois University was cancelled one day in December after campus police found threats and references to prior school shootings (i.e. Virginia Tech). This shooting was the fourth at a U.S. school within the week, including the most recent at Louisiana Technical College in Baton Rouge.
This article is the most newsworthy for the week because it was an immediate tragedy (drama/conflict) that occurred at a U.S. university campus. Not only does the article affect those in the Northern Illinois area and campus, but other family members across the country and many college students in general. The impact of the event touches every college student, professor, and family member of a college student in the country because it shows a growing problem on a great scale. The fact that this shooting was one of four within the week is astonishing and makes the article more prominent. There is also a human interest element to the story because of the deaths and the scope of the tragedy. (Newsday, 2/15/08, p. A5).
My favorite article this week was a human interest piece about three Massachusetts fishermen who were rescued from the cold Atlantic Ocean after their fishing boat sank. The men were wearing waterproof survival suits and were found on a life raft when the U.S. Coast Guard rescued them near Fire Island Inlet. The men suffered no injuries, and were examined at nearby Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip. This story appeals to me because it has a happy ending—overall, this was a good example of a quick and easy rescue by the U.S. Coast Guard, and no one was hurt—and it shows courage and strength. Also, Long Island was included in the story because the men were stranded not too far off the coast. (Newsday, 2/14/08, p. A9)
According to several ongoing studies conducted by officials of the United States Marine Corps, hundreds of U.S. Marine deaths could have been prevented within the last few years if critical gear had been rushed to the troops. (Newsday, 2/16/08, p. A4). New York Yankees’ pitcher Roger Clemens continued to stand up to allegations of illegal steroid use at his trial on Capitol Hill. (Newsday, 2/14/08, p. A3). Hillary Clinton’s future in the 2008 campaign run faced much speculation due to intense competition from fellow Democratic candidate Barack Obama. (Newsday, 2/14/08, p. A18). Iraqi parliament set the date for provincial elections to take place on October 1 of this year, leading the way for vast changes in Iraq’s leadership and governmental structure. (Newsday, 2/14/08, p. A24). Long Island’s North Shore University Hospital has recently been conducting baby-theft drills in its maternity ward, a common practice at most hospitals, to continue the clean record of low infant abduction rates; this especially crucial as actress Jennifer Lopez is set to deliver at North Shore in the near future. (Newsday, 2/17/08, p. A46).
