Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Props to the letter to the editor writer for sticking up for the kid who hit the car. That is very nice of him, but he makes a terrible argument.
When serious accidents happen, they make the news. When people don’t pay attention and cause serious accidents, they make the news. Did you hear about a train killing 25 people in Los Angeles recently? If not, I suggest checking the news because you will find it there. You know what happened? The engineer failed to stop a train at a red light. He wasn’t paying attention, and he killed 25 people.
Did that KU student hit a moving vehicle? According to all reports, the answer is no. This is what one refers to as a fact. The car may have been parked or stopped — it really doesn’t matter. The car was not moving for “about five seconds,” and this kid still hit it.
You know where facts are hard to find? The National Enquirer. My guess would be had he been paying attention, like all operators of moving vehicles are required to do, he would not have hit that car after seeing it, not moving, for five seconds. Basically, this kid should have been fined too.
As for The Kansan disrespecting KU Journalism, that is absurd. People formulate opinions based on journalism. That includes pictures. That photo is factual, visible evidence. It looks awfully similar to what one would expect to see from someone crashing into the rear windshield of an automobile. Apparently you have heard the opinions of people familiar with this story, but not everybody shares opinions.
In response to your closing question, “If you were Andrew, would you be troubled by the article?” I would probably not be as troubled as I would be by the fact that I hit a car, broke a windshield, was bleeding, had to be taken to the hospital and am now financially responsible for fixing this individual's car. That is what would trouble me the most — not the fact that it was reported in the student daily newspaper.
—Max Wescoe is a junior from San Diego.
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Comments
Letter: Checking the facts
Isnt there a difference between a train accident killing 25 and a guy riding a bike hitting a car? I think there is a relevant difference here. The train accident is a tragic event- 25 people fatally injured. The bike/car accident was just a crazy scene, nothing noteworthy whatsoever.
Lets flip the scenario around: Suppose the UDK doesn't run the story, and then everyone finds out two days later. Is there going to be public outcry that they didn't give proper coverage to a bicycle accident? I honestly think it did more harm(to the UDK) to put the photo and story on the front page than it would've to ignore the story altogether. Also, I thought the article was a little misleading - saying the car was parked when in fact it was technically obstructing the roadway
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