Give them time to grieve...

It has been just about 36 hours since tragedy struck the Virginia Tech campus and it has taken less time than that for the media to want to place blame for the tragic events. Innocent students lost their lives, families have been torn apart and a campus has been shattered. The first priority of the media should be to cover what happened and to seem sympathetic. But in reality the media is criticizing the decisions the university made, and not paying attention to what really matters.

When I first heard about the events I was shocked. I didn't know what to think and was a little unnerved. If it could happen there, what's stopping it from happening at UNH. As the news of the shooting first broke details were scattered. There were conflicting reports of the number of dead and injured. As time passed the numbers were cleared up and in the end a total of 33 people were dead and at least another 29 were injured. As I watched the news in awe I began to question the motive behind the interviews. During a press conference with the Chief of Police reporters were asking if the bodies were still inside the buildings, and and other unnecessary questions. Questions like those were not mattered at that point in time. People were mourning and did not need to know that their loved one could still be inside.

Over the course of the day, the manner in which the media covered the tragedy seemed to change. The attention switched from the number of casualties to why the university didn't do certain things. They questioned the manner in which the lock down was administered and how the off campus students were alerted. While flipping through the channels, I landed on WMUR News 9 and noticed that they were doing a story on the nor'easter, and no mention on the massacre that had occurred. I found this odd and continued to watch it. Fifteen minutes went by and still no word of the tragic events that were unfolding. This surprised me because WMUR is normally really good about covering breaking news.

What happened on the campus of Virginia Tech is awful. Words can not describe how I feel about this. It deeply saddens me, and makes me wonder what could make someone knowingly murder 32 people and injure another 29. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by this tragedy.