December 20, 2018 was an eventful day. That week, the school had had two administrative lockdowns. An administrative lockdown is a type of lockdown that is called due to a medical emergency, typically to give the student in question privacy. On this morning, we had another one. This one was due to a fight that broke out between two ninth grade girls. A large group of students were watching the fight and some were recording videos. One student sent the video they took to a local news station and, before we knew it, my school was suddenly the talk of the town. The news station decided to capitalize on the fear that lingers in the nation after the shooting that took place at Majory Stoneman Douglas High earlier that year. The community was under the impression that everyone in my school was in danger. Everyone in my family texted me soon after the story was released asking if I was okay, and I was furious.
After the lockdown ended and classes resumed, I eventually went to newspaper class. My advisor, Miss Cwikla, sat us all down to discuss the actions of Valley News Live. We all agreed that their need to get the story out as soon as possible did not excuse their sloppy gathering of facts. Seeing as we were two weeks from going to print, I decided to scrap the Letter from the Editor I had already written and start fresh. I made it clear that this type of unethical reporting was not okay with me and the rest of the Sheyenne Publications students.
After the lockdown ended and classes resumed, I eventually went to newspaper class. My advisor, Miss Cwikla, sat us all down to discuss the actions of Valley News Live. We all agreed that their need to get the story out as soon as possible did not excuse their sloppy gathering of facts. Seeing as we were two weeks from going to print, I decided to scrap the Letter from the Editor I had already written and start fresh. I made it clear that this type of unethical reporting was not okay with me and the rest of the Sheyenne Publications students.