“In Binghamton, someone…allegedly shot and killed up to 12 or 13 people...” explained Vice President Joe Biden today to a crowd which answered him with a clear, pronounced, and collective gasp laden with shock and disbelief.
The reaction observed at the National Action Network’s convention in New York City reminded me of how classmates and faculty at Wilkes University reacted. Much like those listening to Vice President Biden, we had spent our day in a conference, ironically discussing the importance of journalism and mass media, only to find that the world of journalism and mass media had frantically been trying to inform us, since 10:30 that morning, of these events. We gasped to express our shock and our disbelief.
The shock and disbelief felt did not stop at college students and civil rights activists. It extended to the highest figures, both locally in Binghamton, as police chief Joseph Zikuski explained the press, “[t]his is Binghamton, and we don’t have these tragedies,” as well as nationally and internationally as President Barack Obama explained in a statement given from France, "Michelle and I were shocked and deeply saddened to learn about the act of senseless violence in Binghamton, NY today."
Prayer services are being held at churches and on campuses in Binghamton, and I can name more than a few people in Wilkes-Barre who have turned to their faith to react to this tragedy. President Obama and Vice President Biden both asked the nation to pray for Binghamton.
And that is exactly what we’ll do. So how does a presidential administration react to a national tragedy? The same way we all do, perhaps the only way we, as Americans, know: with shock, disbelief, and, of course, prayer.
Monica Turner
Wilkes University, '10
Communications
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