Columbine Myth

The sound of reporters all talking at once, their cameras flashing and being thrust into their faces, people crying and calling out for answers to why this would ever happen: Columbine. This infamous school shooting was not only life threatening for those who were there inside, but also for those caught in the horrible crossfire of media coverage that followed. From the plethora of myths to the shameless actions of the law enforcement involved, the issues of Columbine just seemed to multiply with no one single answer as to why all of this madness was happening. The many myths encompassed everything from who the shooters were to the question of who exactly professed faith in the library that fateful day. The media on the other hand had a large …show more content…
One in particular blew up into a media sensation: Cassie Bernall. Just five days after the massacre of Columbine she was the face of Columbine (Cullen 177). According to student rumors she had been asked a gunpoint if she believed in God, answered yes, and then shot to death. This martyr story quickly became a beacon of hope and a light in the darkness to many, especially Cassie’s parents. A sophomore at Columbine named Craig gave his account of what he had heard in the library that fateful day and immediately newspapers all over the country were writing about it (Cullen 180). This account was given by a student who was actually in the room when the moment transpired so why would anyone think of questioning this account? Sadly Craig did not actually see these actions transpire, but heard them from behind another table which would prove to simply cause another ugly mess in the Columbine massacre. Meet Valeen Shnurr, another young woman who was also in the library with Cassie and Craig. Her account of how after she had been shot she was asked if she believed in God and was spared after giving an affirmative answer (Cullen 224). Both of these narratives were strikingly similar and Val never wavered even with the shock of living through Columbine with debilitating injuries. If Val’s story had come out just a bit earlier much of …show more content…
In schools today most students are briefed on lockdown procedures that give a direct and concise plan on how to be as safe as possible in the event of a shooting. When Columbine occurred there were not development plans in place for a massacre such as transpired. Now in many high schools students are told not to use any cellular devices to contact anyone in the event of a shooting. This is a sharp contrast to how students and even faculty responded in 1999, even though cell phones were not as prevalent as they are today (Cullen 66). There were students on their phones almost constantly trying to get through, today that is strictly prohibited behavior as it could lead to the shooter’s location of students via the usage of their phones. Another drastic change on school policy is that for the most part the school will give a report to the media, or the local law enforcement, but not the students while the tragedy is still transpiring. In the event of Columbine students were ambushed by a throng of reporters just minutes after exiting the high school (Cullen 67). This made for even more confusion as to what was truly going on, because hysterical teenagers are not the most reliable witness. This created a huge media mess in the coverage of Columbine and the changes in school policy are due largely in part to these terrible