Cam Coraggio, Morgan Krinke, Jordan Dailey, Mikayla Seebohm

On Sept. 4, a 14-year-old student in Georgia took an AR-15 to class, killing two students and two teachers. While this alone is upsetting to many, what’s also concerning is the recent language around these violent acts at schools. Unfortunately in the U.S., school shootings have become so frequent that society has become desensitized to this type of violence. 

On April 20, 1999, two Columbine High School students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, killed 23 people in Littleton, Colo. This became known as the Columbine Shooting and was the first well-known school shooting. 

The day after Columbine, a story by New York Times journalist James Brooke had this headline: “Terror in Littleton: The Overview; 2 students in Colorado school said to gun down as many as 23 and kill themselves in a siege.” 

Almost 30 years later, the Times did an article about remembering the Columbine Shooting. The headline was “For ‘Columbiners,’ school shootings have a deadly allure.” 

Now when a school shooting occurs the Times seems to diminish the tragedy. For example, the day after the Georgia school shooting, a story by reporters Troy Closson and Dana Goldstein has this headline: “Georgia Shooting Might Have Been ‘Way Worse’ Without Security Steps.” Using language like “way worse” draws attention away from the victims who were killed and their families who will forever mourn them. 

To the families, the worst had become a reality. 

The language used to describe Columbine in 1999 compared to 2024 has changed, making school shootings seem almost less impactful or important. Time headline writers have gone from using words such as “terror” and “siege” to using phrases such as “might have been ‘way worse.’”

There needs to be more compassion around reporting on the tragedies of school shootings. Too much time is spent describing the shooter(s) and their families than those of the victims. 

The young students and dedicated teachers who had their lives taken during these events are the ones that society needs to remember, not the names of those who took them.

(Editor’s note: This editorial was an assignment for Writing 201, News Writing/Journalism. The authors are one of three editorial boards in the class.)