Thursday, April 19, 2007

Deceptive Headlines

Matt Apuzzo's analysis is now available through the Associate Press Web site. The bad news is that it is available under the headline "Va. Tech Awarding Degrees to Victims." This seems to be a reflection of the fact that the following paragraph was added to his report (probably while I was working on my own reflections):

University officials also announced that Cho's 32 victims would be awarded degrees posthumously, and that other students terrorized by the shootings might be allowed to end the semester immediately without consequences.

I am not sure how I feel about the first clause in that sentence, but it is not for me to say. The only reactions that matter are those of the family and friends of the victims. On the other hand I was very glad to read the second clause. Notwithstanding the "Life must go on" injunction of Edna St. Vincent Millay's "Lament" (do Virginia Tech English students read that poem?) it is hard to imagine any university being able to sustain "business as usual" for the remainder of the semester.

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