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AiyjalonFooseCampbell

UWRT1102
FranVoltz
17September2015

RightToHeartheTruthandNothingButtheTruth

Whenlookingatthedifferentpromptsforthisjournalentry,itmademeactuallythink
abouttimeswhenIwaswatchingthenewsandthoughtThatsnottrue,Whyaretheyonly
tellingoneside,andNowyouaretakingsomethingpositiveandtwistingittomakeit
somethingnegative.IreallydidnotwatchthenewsoftenbutIrememberthetwotimesthatI
didwatchitandwhoknewhowthosebroadcastsweregoingtoaffectthecommunity.
InDecember2014,therewasanincidentatmyhighschool,OxonHillHighSchool,
whereagroupofstudentshadingestedhashoilorsmokedmarijuanawhileclasswasinsession.
Well,acoupleofthosepeopleendedupgoingtothehospitalandthatwaswhenallhelllet
loose,forlackofbetterwords.However,itwasnottheschoolitselfthatwasoutofcontrol,it
wasthemedia.Fox5wasalloverthisstoryandhadeverythingwrong.Therewereevennews
reporterswaitingoutsidetheentranceoftheschoolgroundsforpeopletowalkbysothatthey
couldgetaneyewitnessreportonwhathappenedinsidethebuilding.Thatwasthefirststrike.
Asidefromwhattheschoolreported,thatwasalltheyhadtobackuptheircommentsaboutour
educationsystem,howthecommunityisaffectedthestudentsandthecountyasawhole.When
youwentonlinetoreadthearticle,itwasbarelytwoparagraphsandjusthadtheletterthatwent


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home,informingtheparentsofwhathappened.Otherthanthat,theybasicallyhadnothing.But,
theydidnotmindrunningthatsamestoryatleasttwotimeseveryhour.LasttimeIchecked,you
neededlegitprooforevidencetoshowhowsomethinglikethisaffectsoureducationsystemand
ifyouweregoingtotellhowsomthing,tohaveallyourinformationtogether.Itwasapparant
theydidntanditwasmakingmeangryandhighlyfrustratedbecauseIsatthereandwatchedthe
newsanchorsjustrepeatedthesamefalseinformationoverandoveragain.Tomethatproves
theydonthaveallthedetailsandtrulydontknowwhathappened.HowamIsupposedto
believewhatyouaresaying,ifyoudonthavealltheinformation?Thosetwominutesthatwere
dedicatedtothatstory,weretheequivalenceofaheadlineinthenewspaper.Butthemessage
thateveryonereceived,whowaswatchingit,wasthatPGCountyPublicSchoolsarenotthebest
institutionsforyourchildrenandarealwaysinvolvedwithdrugs.Butyouknowwhat?They
neverandImeanNEVERbroadcastanyofthepositivethingswehavedoneforthecommunity
andthenation.TheydidnotbroadcasthowwehaveaveryeffectiveOneLessBully,OneMore
Friendprogram,howourchoirandbandareregionalandnationalwinnersorbetteryetallthe
beneficialcommunityservicesthatthestudentsandstaffofOxonHillhavedoneandwill
continuetodo.Butevenwhenthereporterstellthelocalcommunityaboutsomething
productive,thereisalwaysabutthatcomeswithit.
BetweentheendofMayandthebeginningofJune,theHonorsArtsStudioatOxonHill
HighSchoolcreatedartworksthatshowedtheywereawarewhatwasgoingoninthecommunity
andtodayssociety.Theyalsoshowedthattheywereoutragedattheseaccidentalmurdersand
Ididnotblamethem.Theydidittherespectfulandnonviolentwaybuttherewereasmall
groupsofpeoplewhodisagreed.TherewereSchoolBoardmemberswhodownrightwantedto


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takedowntheartworksbecauseitwas
bashingpoliceofficersandamember
ofthelocalFraternalOrderofPolice
evenwentasfartosaythatTosaythe
displaywasdistastefulwouldbean
understatement.Onceagain,Fox5
coveredthisstoryandevenhostedan
interviewwiththeChiefofPoliceanda
wellknown,localartisttoshowthe
differentpointofviews.Eventhough
theartistwaspointingoutthefactthatitwasaformofexpressionthatshowedhowyoungladies
andgentlemenfeltaboutwhatwasgoingonintheirbackyard,theywerestillopposingtheidea
ofit.Sincewhenwerewenotallowedtoexpressthefirstamendmentthatstatedwehavethe
freedomofspeechandexpression?WhatIdidnotlikewashowthey,meaningthehosts,were
makingitseemlikethisfreedomofspeechandexpressionthatwasshown,wasinappropriate
andprovesthatthereneedstobeachangeinwhatthestudentsarelearninginclass.LikeI
statedearlier,theytooksomethingthatwaspositiveandwithafewinterviewsfromsome
outsidepeople,madeitsomethingharmfulandnegative.ButIcansay,theonethingtheydid
rightduringthisordealwasshowhowpersistentmyfellowclassmatesandteacherswerewhenit
cametogettingtheartworkputbackup.Theyhadpetitionsgetsignedbyoverathousandpeople
andheldconferencestonotonlygettheartworkputbackupbuttoshowthattakingitdownwas
sayingthatwedidnothaveavoice.Thatwewerententitledtospeechfreelyandexpress


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ourselves.Therewaseven
anotherpieceofartputup
thenextdaytobackwhat
wassaidattheconference.
Asyoucanseeonthe
coffins,onesaysHerelies
ourFreedomofSpeechand
theotheronesaysHerelies
ourFreedomofExpression.
Afterseeingthisontv,Iwasreallyproudofmyschoolbecauseevenwhenwehavepeople
attackingusandtryingtobringusdown,westandtallandsayWearentbackingdown.
Okay,soafterallthat,IfeelacertainwayaboutthenewsandnowthatIthinkaboutit,I
alwayshave.ThatisprobablywhyIdontwatchitthatoften.Igetthefeelingthatthemediais
thattheytellmewhatTHEYwantmetoknoworwhattheythinkisbestforthecommunityto
know.IbelievethatIhavetorighttoknowthewhat,when,where,howandwhy.Actually,
everyonedoesandIdontseehowsomepeoplearesatisfiedwithwhattheylearnwhenthey
watchthenewsorsimplyreadanarticleonline.AmItheonlyoneleftwithquestionsorwanting
toknowmore?AmItheonlyonewhohasthosethoughtsofIdontknowabout
this..somethingseemsofforWhatabouttheotherperson?Whatstheirsideofthestory?
Andwesometimeswechangethechannelwithoutfindingoutorwegoonlineandfindthesame
story,withdifferentdetails.Thingslikethimakeithardforthemediatoseemcredibleinmy
eyesbecausetherearesomanydifferentversionsofthesamestoryanditslikeWhatsreal?