University of Mississippi students have been bombarded with news in recent weeks. From reporters making news packages on our campus to having to listen to political attack ads every time you turn on a show or podcast, we’re all probably submerged in the madness.
The key to staying afloat is simple: skepticism. Be skeptical about what you read and hear. Misinformation is the barrier to serenity, and it is everywhere. You must be shrewd enough to distinguish what is real from what is fake.
Campaigns, from homecoming to the national midterms, will often be filled with promises, most of which are likely to never be thought of again. Sift through and find the ones that are genuine.
People will say things that are false or irrelevant because they think people are not paying close enough attention. Be the person to call out the nonsense; stand up for the truth and the facts.
I am not suggesting that anyone go through life proclaiming that everything is a lie. Skepticism must be balanced with an appropriate level of receptivity. However, the classroom is a particularly concerning setting that disfigures that balance.
Many professors will teach the significance of keeping an open mind, and I absolutely agree that the quickest route to ignorance is to narrow the brain. On the contrary, some instructors themselves can be resistant to narratives and statements that don’t align with their beliefs. Be skeptical of what you are hearing in the classroom.
Recent rumors circulating around Oxford demonstrate the importance of vetting what some may portray as fact.
For instance, on Sept. 24, major news outlet Fox News published the account of a University of Mississippi student who said she had been mistreated by the Oxford Police Department (OPD) after she claimed to have been drugged at a bar on the Square. She claimed students were “scared to leave” their homes and dorms, and this was plastered in the headline of the article.
The student’s statements were not corroborated. I caution that these sorts of articles could be selling a carefully crafted narrative or are just a display of incompetence in the workplace. OPD’s statement refuting the student’s claims, which was not initially included in the publication, was added later to the end of the article, buried by the more dramatic narrative that the University of Mississippi’s campus was absolutely unsafe and that students were cowering in fear.
“The available video does not support the statement that she was abandoned or left alone by our officers,” OPD’s release to Fox News Digital said.
Rather, the statement described that the officers assisted the student, took the situation seriously and ensured that the student arrived at her dorm safely. The officers clarified that she was able to state where she was going and that she was OK, but that she was intoxicated.
We must think critically, separating facts from fluff, and come to a well-informed conclusion about what is reality.
Large news companies are, at their core, businesses; they make money on ratings and views. No extra money is given for getting everything 100% correct. Keep that in mind when listening to the reporter on your For You page.
The cycle continues. The American Kratom Association (AKA) reprimanded local law enforcement for announcing that packaged kratom was found at the scenes of both student deaths, when real drug found at both scenes was the synthetic, kratom-like product Smax Pseudo-DHM. Mac Haddow, senior fellow of public policy for the AKA, continued to vent the organization’s frustrations, explaining that the organization wanted to hold OPD and the Lafayette County Sheriff’s Department accountable for the confusion it caused.
Sometimes, the news is all a game of “he said, she said,” and the real truth is buried somewhere in the middle. It can be a tall order to ask average people with jobs or students with homework to take the time to sort, wash and fold the laundry, but it is our duty to search for the truth wherever it may be.
Griffin Armstrong is a freshman political science major from Tuscaloosa, Ala.
