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Tuesday, 04 March 2008 |
Newpaper staff offers personal perspective on incident
For a few hours on Tuesday afternoon the campus of Appalachian State University was turned upside-down as fears were raised about a possible gunman on campus.
Members of The Appalachian editorial board immediately reacted as the story broke and each provided a unique perspective to the situation.
Editor in chief Clair Baxter first learned of the story via the campus-wide alert that was sent out to the entire university by University Police.
She
contacted members of the editorial board to alert them of the situation
and to let them know the entire make-up of the front page of today’s
paper would likely change to cover this breaking news story and bring
the most timely information possible to the Appalachian community.
Baxter, along with Chief Photographer Derek DeSha, headed to the original scene to gather as much information as possible.
Millie Tolleson, associate editor for editorial content, was in class
as news of the gunman broke. She said her professor tried to continue
to conduct class, but it became impossible as students became more and
more concerned about the situation.
For the most part, Tolleson said students remained calm, however they
were surprised that their professor was not allowing them to leave
Walker Hall, when many of them just wanted to go home.
Lindsay Tigar, lifestyles editor, learned of the gunman while still in
the Student Publications office and debated whether or not to go to
class, but decided to go since no announcement had yet been made
regarding the canceling of evening classes.
Her professor conducted the class as normally as he could and even administered the scheduled exam.
Tigar said students in her class were really concerned about the
situation and some were even reduced to tears. Once the exam was over
many students left the classroom and even the building, instead of
staying locked down inside the building.
Ryan Wixted, sports editor, was in the Student Publications office when the news broke but left shortly thereafter.
He immediately noticed an increased police presence around campus with
a police car stationed outside the library and a police blockade on
Locust Street, as two police cars blocked cars from entering up towards
Plemmons Student Union.
Associate Editor for Production, Jon LaFontaine, was in class at the
time of the lockdown and was actually in the middle of a discussion
about safety on college campuses. A student in his class received a
text message about a gunman on campus and LaFontaine immediately began
calling people to verify it.
Once the class got confirmation the professor wasn’t sure how to handle
the situation and decided to take the students to her office during the
lockdown. LaFontaine left at this point to go to the Student
Publications Office.
Associate Editor for Online Content, Chris Zaluski, witnessed police
officers on Sanford Mall, who were likely responding to the rumor that
the gunman was spotted there.
Jamison Doran, news editor, was in her room in Appalachian Heights
Residence Hall when Baxter called her to alert her of the situation.
Doran stayed in her room and kept herself updated on the situation
through AppalNET and local news sources during the lockdown. She also
witnessed several news helicopters flying around the campus out her
window.
Baxter and DeSha returned to the Student Publications office just as
the lockdown was going into place and were asked to leave Plemmons
Student Union, as all university buildings, except residence halls,
closed down as a precaution.
Knowing that information needed to get to the Appalachian community
concerning the situation operations were moved to Baxter’s apartment
and production continued for the rest of the night.
The purpose of this editorial is to inform our readers of the different
perspectives and insights The Appalachian editorial board experienced
during this time.
Anyone who has any inside information or would like to share their
experiences with The Appalachian should e-mail us at
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