Sign Word for Administrative Fast

Most among us are frustrated because the IITM disappoints us in every possible way. Below list of comments give a better idea of what the  "Why are secretaries are like this, Why do the never work for the betterment of Institute?""Why the heck should I pay 88Rs. for this bull shit""Those who take up Secretary position do it only for the certificates which help in Placements. Show me one guy in the institute who would continue in their PoR if they know that they are not going to get certificates.""CCW is more corrupt than UPA sarkar. And the secretaries are like corrupt IAS officers taking their share every time possible. Otherwise why would it so tough for them to provide ache khana. And adding to this they never publish their records.""Mandatory attendance serious bullshit.""It's really immature to for leading institutes like IIT's to take a back step in cross gender communication""In IITM nothing happens through secretaries. Protests are the only way to make changes.""My hostel council is fit for nothing. They pass budgets but never make any improvements in the Hostel."Very recently I happened to have a brief chat with s0me of our Professors and what I found out was really astounding . Given below are some of the concerns they haveCross-Gender Communication-One professor said "I had a cousin, it was during 70'sDuring her college days she was into drugs unfortunately the college administration found out about this and reported the very same to  his father. His father replied saying that his daughter is mature enough to take care of herself. But how many of your batch mates parents would do the same?? Do you know that there has been an incident of abortion in one your B.Tech batch mates. And the parent is frustrated with the Dean and the Warden. Could they have said the that she is major and she should look after herself ? Is the society ready for such a reply? I don't think so. Imagine a situation wherein he said the your girl the word spread out. How may of your friends wouldn't call her a names??These kind of incidents are going to make a serious impact on female residential educaiton. After all education is the prime responsibility here. We are only trying to prevent Females from entering the Mens Hostel but we are never against their communication. Please don't think this as one of many moves that we are making to shut off cross gender communication.  "Even 1000 similar explanations should  can't be a reason to shut off the cross gender communication. But who should make the first move in promoting the cross gender communication in India. If the Education Institutes make the first move then it may cause serious damage to the institute especially with bullshit media which want to sensationalise everything.Messing: Only the CCW, Dost and Chariman(MMCC) are the ones working for their betterment. No other professor are able to find time. to offer help in this regard.Plagiarism in assignments and Examinations              Professors :"None of the Students are ready to reveal the names of the culprits in anonymity. How can you expect us take an action. We have made sure that there  enough invigilators during the exams. Most departments give seatings in alternate benches. I think this the maximum we can do.If you ask me about the assignments most Universities have culture on non plagiarism. We should make our student also develop the same habit."Attendance:"Almost 60% of my colleagues are against the idea of compulsory attendance. As we all are well know very well, most of these professors don't take attendance in classes. But what's unfortunate is to see that these classes usually have turnout of 20-30%. Of course there are some exceptions. How should one tackle this? Incase we conduct class tests or assignment sessions students are ready to copy."Interest in Engineering-Professors:"Most Students say that they are not interested in Engineering and JEE has seriously flailed in doing the job. All the old 5 IIT's have decided to not allot any branch before the end of first yearStudent:"Why didn't it happen?"Professor:"As expected the new IIT's are not ready for such a thing since in those other IIT's Computer Science is the only branch that's able to attract top rankers of JEE."Course Work-Professor:"We are not very far away from losing our tie-up's with many Universities worldwide with regard to Campus Exchange programmes. They are already reporting that the courses here not that intensive and therefore they can't have a credit transfer for courses thought here. As many of us know, it's very much impossible for a student from Stanford to pass in all the courses even if one course is taken over and above the prescribed curriculum because he has no time. This should explain the dilution of the courses that we have here " are making to shut off cross gender communication.  Student: "Why don't we have similar curriculum here?"Professor:"It's plainly due to professors politics. We should some mandatory course and every course and every Professor will say that his course is vital and it  should be mandatory. Some specialisations are falling to admit students since they are introduced for satisfying some professors."My Opinion about Professors:"As matter of fact a most Deans work for an average of 8 hours only in their Dean's Office. In addition to that they have classes, pressure and family. Most people don't take up a position like Dean(or)Director at the age of 50 to go ahead in life but they want to do something for the institute and they do as much as they can. But the changes are gradual and not every attempt would succeed but they are happening. And there are very few other Professors apart from Director and the Deans. They are short of hands. "My opinion about most of the answers for this Question:What amazes me the most is the my institute students pathetic  comments are since most of you expressed your grievances without any understanding of Legislative System. They look vey lame and very similar to child asking his father for helicopter as his birthday gift. I wished that my institute students are more mature than this. Communication gap between the administration and the Students:I understand that the key reason for you not attempting to discuss about solutions but rather kept increasing the wish list is lack of information. Most of us have pretty much no idea about what is happening in the institute. This communication gap is because most of us don't make use of the forums. Most of don't read emails, don't go  to SAC meetings.The one place that the institute was successful is that it created a solid system that can make changes happen in the institute and make sure that students voice is heard."If SAC meetings are getting 5% of the Attendance of the protests and hunger strikes, Is there any difference between a sensationalising media and IIT students?"The change that I wish to see in the institute is to 60% of the Institute attending the SAC meetings.

Because he didn’t.Let's start with the fact that Obama's 2011 action wasn't carried out like a Three Stooges routine.And we can continue on to the next fact, which is that Trump's is a blanket ban on all immigrants entering the United States, issued without warning, due care, or, apparently, thinking.The 2011 action was an administrative review, not a ban. Obama administration officials met with officials from the various departments - State, Homeland Security, Justice, intelligence agencies - to make the refugee vetting process, already strict, even stricter. Extreme vetting, anyone? This,...

A Saturday Night Live skit makes you think President Trump is not presidential material? REALLY? Wow — you should tune into the news once in awhile. SNL’s skits focus on one or two aspects of Trump’s behavior or mannerisms, and blows them all out of proportion in order to amplify their silliness, or their reflection of his lack of maturity, his bent toward bullying behavior, or his grandiosity. If it takes SNL to make you aware of those things, then, I’m sorry, but you have simply not been paying attention. SNL’s skits are effective and comedic because they take a real-life trait or personality quirk and inflate it to preposterous dimensions. With Mr. Trump, they have so many options to choose from, and the target is so “yuuuge” that it probably isn’t all that hard. I’ll bet an SNL writer would tell you that those skits virtually write themselves. How many times did you see President Obama roasted on SNL? Not very often, correct? That is because he was a man of maturity, class, grace and intelligence — usually not very funny things, although they are admirable. Mr. Trump, on the other hand, is brim full of false bravado, strange turns of phrase, bellicosity and general pompousness — the perfect targets for a comedian. Trump has created a “golden age” for SNL (and man, did they ever need it). But please don’t make judgements about a politician’s qualities based on what you see on late-night comedy television shows. Watch the news instead. Although the journalists are, at times, as goofy as the comedians on SNL, the stories they are telling are (for the most part) true. THAT is the real reflection on President Trump — the number of head-shaking, embarrassing, thoughtless things he actually says — not the cartoon version of him SNL has created.

Here is some awesome sarcasm on the leh manali road for people jerking on road.Be patient on road otherwise you will be patient in hospitalWhy are you in hurry?Sarcasm at its bestThank you for driving safe!!!!When administration is out of words for inconvenience, they make roads to apologize to people.Specially for harsh drivers!!!!Be gentle on her(road) curves!!! Ha ha haLife is short, don't make it shorter.True oneChoose a right place to donate bloods,not on roadsGaddi chaladi chhalanga mardi(vehicle jerking on road)Don't be romantic while driving, it's injurious to health.Issued in public interest.Truly for womenRemember there is someone waiting for you back at home, she wants you but not so fast.

I had an English teacher who, for anonymity’s sake, we’ll call Mrs. Fartright.Mrs. Fartright walked down the aisles, handing out our final written exam. She slides my paper onto my desk. I sign my honor pledge (no cheating etc) and open to the first page and begin conjuring my best responses.After the last question, I page back through and review. I find several typos and sentences that need rewording. I get my eraser out and scrub out bad sentences and reword them. No big deal right? I am one of the last people done. I walk up the aisle and lay my paper on the stack of know-nothings, in-betweens, and superstars.Fast forward 2 weeks. Our teacher, I mean Mrs. Fartright, hands back our papers. I get mine. I have an 89%. Which isn’t bad? But a nuisance, B’s and C’s require explanations back at the home front.I begin paging through and see -1 deductions all over the pages with no explanation. I look for patterns, but only notice the deductions are located where all of my eraser marks are. Perhaps I had worded it correctly the first time?I walk up front and kindly say “Excuse me, Mrs. Fartright, I noticed I lost points on my paper, a lot of -1 deductions, but there is no explanation?”I hand her my paper.She smiles and says “Oh yes, those deductions were for the erase marks, you may have cheated so I took a point off for those”W-w-w-w-wait a minute.I turn my head sideways, “Excuse me?”She says “Was that not clear?”, clearly irritated that I am challenging her.“No. Not clear at all. Say it one more time please”She reiterates “I took points off because your eraser marks mean you may have been copying your peers’ paper”.Blood rushes to my head. But I find a happy place and diplomatically make a case to her that this is not fair a) because it was not disclosed initially that we would lose points for erase marks and b) that is ridiculous? to take points because I “may” have cheated.We go back and forth. At this point we are sort of making a scene. I may even look like a fool up there arguing with her. But I don’t care. And neither does she, and she will not give an inch.I finally state “I am taking this to the administration, if you’d like to accuse me of cheating, go right ahead. I will not accept these deductions, on principle.”The points were awarded back to me.I thanked the gods I didn’t have to see her again.Because Mrs. Fartright clearly didn’t Graderight.(100+ edit suggestions later - Graderight was intentional. It is a joke people. But I do appreciate it)

Wait a minute!Human rights violations in Balochistan? Really?!Well, I do not believe in videos! The spread fake news trying to malign Pakistan’s pristine (“Pak” in Urdu means “pure”) image in the global community!Isn’t Balochistan the largest province in Pakistan which is being put on a fast track to unprecedented prosperity by the benevolence of the Chinese and the Pakistani governments, through the super-visionary CPEC project?These are the rhetorical questions, that the Pakistani military junta would want the world to ask, in response to any queries on human rights violations in Balochistan.(Cartoon by Manoj Kureel)Reality Check!The above is a snapshot of Baloch families staging a protest in Karachi, Pakistan on February 10, 2013.The Agreement that the British Brokered between the Khan of Kalat and Jinnah in 1947, at the Birth of PakistanJinnah’s Betrayal and Pakistan’s Lust for BalochistanWhen the Khan of Kalat showed no signs of wanting a merger with Pakistan, Pakistan’s founder Mohammed Ali Jinnah lost his cool. The Pakistan army invaded Kalat and completed the annexation of Balochistan.Some facts about Baluchistan that made it irresistible to the territorial lust of the Pakistani military regime.When the Pakistan army completed its annexation of Balochistan in 1948, the province literally constituted half the land mass of Pakistan. It is the most resource rich of all Pakistan's provinces. Add to that the geo-strategic importance of Balochistan as being located at the crossroads of China, South Asia, Middle East and by some extension, Central Asia as well.What do Balochis think of their treatment in Pakistan?Pictures are worth a thousand words…Who are the Leaders fighting the Pakistan Army for an Independent Balochistan?Ever since taking military, political and administrative control of Balochistan, the Pakistan army has been instrumental in unleashing a reign of terror where Baloch leaders fighting for independence have either "disappeared", been assassinated or forced to flee and take refuge in Europe.The Leaders for an Independent Balochistan are continuing their struggle across the world to inform and educate the global audience on the need to stop Pakistan’s war crimes on the Baloch population.What can the International Community do for Balochistan?Here is what their leaders have to say…The Atrocities of the Pakistan Army are Continuing Even to this Day…

In my second year of teaching, I had a class of about ten students in a course called “Refresher Math 11.” It was basically 7th grade math for 11th graders.There was a particular student I was warned about before the school year even started. Colleagues told me he would be a handful and that I better get mentally prepared. Due to their concerns and warnings, I knew there would be a level of disruptions and shenanigans that I would just have to manage myself. It’s public school and every student has the right to be educated. I can’t throw a student out of the room every day.I knew it was going to be rough year on the first day. As the students entered the room, one male student took one look at me and said, “Oh, well it all makes sense now!”Apparently, these students had seen me around school the previous year but thought I was a snobby and antisocial senior who was overdressed. In their defense, I did carry a backpack with me since I did not have my own classroom or any other way to transport my stuff from room to room. And I was only 23.So the year begins and it becomes clear quite soon that the particular student I was warned about-we’ll call him Andrew-was going to be a problem. Being a small class with students who had very short attention spans, I would lecture very little and did a lot of one-on-one teaching. There were fewer than ten kids after all. On a regular basis, when I would be involved helping a student and thus amongst the student desks and looking down, Andrew would get out of his seat and approach the board. He would face the board and make gyrating motions with his right hand, pretending to be masturbating. “This is what they were talking about,” I thought to myself. Rather than address the obvious lewd behavior, which is what I figured he wanted, I simply told him that he needed to remain seated for the duration of the class. This was a fairly regular occurrence.While teaching to the class, I discovered I had to get really creative with my vocabulary. I’m not one for using the most formal language while teaching math. So, imagine me trying to teach the rules of fractions to these students. “Top” of the fraction? Out. “Bottom” of the fraction? Yeah right. Every third word I said was taken as a dirty word. God forbid someone be “late” to class. Or perhaps we were being dismissed “early” from school one day. Forget it. I couldn’t say those words. Andrew took every thing out of context and would repeat it and laugh like I was saying something inappropriate. Sort of like a 6th or 7th grade boy might do if someone said, “Wow, that’s really hard.”Keep in mind this is 2001–2002 before The Office and the nonstop “That’s what she saids.” I mean I like a good “That’s what she said,” every now and then as much as the next person. But I keep it for appropriate company of course.These sexual references went on for probably half the school year, with me ignoring as much of it as possible and and managing the instances one at a time as they came. (Ha! There’s another word I couldn’t say.)One day while teaching, the answer to the problem was 906. I wrote 906 on the board. Andrew absolutely lost it. Then I lost it.“906?! 906???! All year I’ve been doing every problem ahead of time to be sure “those” two numbers would never appear next to each other! 9 and 6 represent 20% of all the digits I have to work with! I’ve only got ten numbers! How can I avoid 9 and 6 being on the board at the same time?! There’s a zero in the middle! And they’re not in that order! You’ve got to be kidding me! This actually just isn’t funny!”Shortly after that outburst, maybe a week or two later, my worst fear as teacher was realized. What’s that fear, you ask? Having a sign taped to my back.I was walking around the desks checking homework. I knew something bad had happened when I went back to the front to approach the board. As soon as my back was toward the students, they erupted in laughter. This couldn’t be good. Now, as a teacher, that does happen from time to time. The students start laughing and it almost never has anything to do with the teacher. This time it was clear it had everything to do with me. When I turned back to face the students, they stifled the laughter.I demanded to know what was going on. After a few seconds of a stalemate, a not-so-horrible girl said quietly, “ You have a sign on your back.” “No.” I thought to myself. “No no no.” I closed my eyes as I signNowed up my my back and felt the paper. I pulled it off and read it. “MY ASS IS HUGE,” it said. Now I’m not a small person and never really was. I have as many body image complexes as the next girl. But my ass is just not one of them. Even now as a much bigger person than back then, my body parts are remarkably proportional.Trying to stifle my tears, I demand to know who put the sign on my back. Silence of course. After some threats, a boy claims he is the culprit. But I know it’s not him. It’s Andrew. I tell this lying boy all the ways he’s going to get in trouble for this and he quickly changes his tune. Finally Andrew admits it. I kick him out of class and call the office to report that he’s coming down.Later that day the Vice Principal wants to see me. I go to her office and she is horrified by Andrew’s behavior. I was confused. “The sign?” I asked. “Oh please. That’s the least of my troubles.” She asks me to elaborate. I tell her some of Andrew’s daily shenanigans. She is more horrified by the minute. She asks me why I hadn’t reported any of this before. I told her, “You all warned me how difficult Andrew was going to be and that I was just going to have to deal. I thought this is what everyone was talking about.” Uh, no. This is not what everyone was talking about. She asks me to please write up a memo detailing Andrew’s behavior over the past few months. I agree of course. Then I ask her why this sign was such a big deal. Her answer-“He touched you. He can’t touch you. This is sexual harassment.” Hmph, I thought. It never occurred to 23 year old me that I could be the victim of a child’s sexual harassment. What can I say? I was clearly young and naïve.I write the memo; it goes something like this:Andrew has been behaving inappropriately since the start of the school year. He frequently interrupts teaching laughing about seemingly innocuous words. It has caused a great deal of stress and forced me to become very creative with my vocabulary. It becomes nearly impossible to complete a sentence when so many words can’t be used without an uproar from Andrew. Long, short, late, early, hard, easy, rough, quick, fast, play, under, over, top, bottom, head, come, came, blow, ball, do, in, out, up, down.Andrew frequently gets up in front of the class and with his back to the class pretends to masturbate.I am also severely limited in doing math problems since the numbers 6 and 9 cannot be anywhere on the board at the same time. It’s also difficult when the homework I want assign is anywhere near a page that may have a 6 and a 9 in the page number.Finally, Andrew taped a sign to my back that said, “MY ASS IS HUGE.”Because this was now a case of sexual harassment, I no longer had to interact with Andrew in any way. He was removed from my class and a meeting was scheduled with his parents. I did not have to attend the meeting. They brought my memo to describe Andrew’s behavior.I received a synopsis of the meeting from a special education teacher who told me that the mother did not attend the meeting and that the father laughed throughout the reading of the memo and even patted Andrew on the back. The administrators warned the father that I had every right to lodge a formal complaint with the police, but lucky for them I wasn’t interested.For the remainder of the school year, he was moved to an emotionally disturbed classroom with my friend, the female special ed teacher. Poor girl. The following year he was moved to an alternative high school.Don’t ever be fooled into thinking teachers get paid too much. ; )**Minor Edit** That school was not Northwest Catholic High School where I currently teach. That was a public high school in New Jersey.

In my very first condo building, one of the other residents didn’t like me. Most people also didn’t like her, but she was a lawyer (she told everyone, I knew she was just starting law school), so they deferred to her. She somehow convinced them that they didn’t need to do the 2 things required for association meetings per the laws in my area - send a notice of the meeting date, time, and location to all owners at the address the association has for them by mail, and post a notice of the same in public areas of the building that all owners can access, both at least 21 days in advance - and held an association meeting that specifically excluded me and 2 other owners using this tactic. Keep in mind this was an 8-unit building, so excluding 3 units from representation meant that they didn’t have a 2/3 (67%) vote, required for many things.During that association meeting, they passed 3 rules (two of which were completely bunk because they were amendments to the bylaws which required a paper ballot, mailed, which at least 2/3 of owners agreed to)…(1) Any owner who did not park their car in their designated parking spot at least 3 nights a week forfeited the use of that parking space to the association to assign or use as they saw fit (parking spots were limited common elements, and any amendment to their use constituted a change to the bylaws; I and one other owner did not own cars, but occasionally let friends park in our spaces, and the car owners wanted our spaces for guests of their own). To best accomplish this, “resident use” spaces could only be used by a car the owner notified the association they possessed, with the license plate and VIN and proof of ownership by a resident, at least 2 weeks prior to that car parking in the space. Guests could not use “resident” spaces, nor could owners for rental cars. Yeah;(2) No one could consume alcohol “on the premises” within “plain view” of other residents. This was precipitated by an uber-”christian” owner who kept us “heathens” out of the association meeting. Everyone thought this meant in just the common spaces, but they were WRONG. Banning having a beer in our big yard was bad enough, but this owner meant if she could see you at all. So, I ended up being the first one “rung up” about it. Since I didn’t even know the rule had passed (minutes and vote results were also not mailed as required by law), she had our management company blowing up my phone on a Friday evening about HAVING A BEER ON MY PRIVATE BALCONY. She could see me from the parking lot, that was “in plain view of other residents,” and I needed to stop. BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE. A neighbor on the first floor was sitting on her couch having a glass of wine when Ms. Perfect walked up to the main door of the building. HER BLINDS WERE OPEN, THAT VIOLATES THE RULE, SHE EITHER HAS TO CLOSE HER BLINDS OR STOP DRINKING *INSIDE* HER OWN HOME. Edit, and I don’t know how I forgot this before: the woman who was hassled for drinking wine in her own living room WAS AN ORDAINED MINISTER. And I don’t mean online just to marry your friends (not necessary in DC…for $30 to the city anyone can perform a wedding, and for $0 beyond the cost of a marriage license you can self-signNow a marriage if both parties are over 21 and sign the proper paperwork)…in an actual, physical, local church, one with a pretty conservative bent (I attended her wedding in her church…they ain’t “progressive” (in a weird stroke of “it’s a small world,” she got engaged to a fairly close coworker of mine just a few months after we both moved into the building…they actually met before either of us moved into the building and didn’t know that we had this weird connection until after they were engaged, when I walked out my door to see my coworker standing in the front yard and said “what the hell are you doing here???”))! And SHE’S being heckled for having a glass of wine with her husband on a Friday evening in her own living room!(3) The building was sold as pet-friendly, with no restrictions. The lawyer neighbor moved in a big, poorly mannered dog just before said association meeting where they excluded several of us. She then proposed to ban all pets, even down to a goldfish in a bowl, except those already in the building. The allowance of pets was actually written into the bylaws (unusual, but it does happen), so, again violating the bylaws except for her own benefit. I was in the process to adopt a dog at that time (appropriate to a small condo and less than 1/3 the size of hers), and I only found out about the bylaw change when I asked the management company for a letter stating dogs were allowed to present to the rescue.Thankfully, all this was resolved pretty quickly when the 3 of us who were excluded from the meeting and a fourth who objected to most of the rule changes paid (payment is necessary unless there’s a good reason for them to do work pro bono) a lawyer friend of mine to write a simple letter asking for proof the meeting and bylaw changes had been properly conducted. The “lawyer” girl sent a letter back saying, without proof, they had, but upon further insistence, the management company stepped in, said that the proof was not there, please don’t sue (since they would be on the hook for not conducting the meeting properly), and asked for permission to re-do the association meeting, with proper notice, in a proper place, and with proper balloting for bylaw changes. We agreed, all measures failed when properly voted upon, and the “lawyer” and “christian” could only get revenge on us through disapproving stares and putting their units up for rent as soon as they could afford something else.

I hope you all feel betrayed by the media and the political puppeteers when you hear the truth:Because the other 17 school shootings didn’t happen. Rather, they only happened if you play fast and loose with the word “school” and the word “shooting.” More fast and loose than any of those schools would accept in a homework assignment, because it’s dishonest, plain and simple. Long story short, they deceitfully counted every discharge of a firearm on a school owned property, including crimes committed on weekends, non-student suicides near abandoned schools, and shots fired into the air by adults in empty parking lots at colleges.I’ve worked in high school and college administration, been a Principal, been a teacher, and have taught in the inner city, and have friends in all those circles. One of which is on the list of the 18 school shootings. He told me the administration was collectively dumbfounded trying to figure out what school shooting apparently happened at their school. Maybe it’s a neighboring school? Maybe it’s the kid who brought a knife and the media was exaggerating? No one could figure it out, but all that continually popped up on the news was that they were one of the “18 school shootings.” But no such thing happened. Wull, now that I google it, something happened, but it wasn’t something any of them thought of, which is a sign that the phrase “18 school shootings” is a political lie.Across the media-bias aisle, that number has been mocked and debunked. But it’s still “the number.” SeeWashington Post: No, there haven’t been 18 School Shootings in 2018. That number is Flat Wrong.Politifact: Comparison of school shootings in US, world lacks supportCNBC: A gun control group counted 18 school shootings in 2018. That's now disputed — here's whyThe unrelated Washington Examiner’s No, there have not been 18 school shootings so far in 2018NPR, now with even more adjectives! https://www.npr.org/2018/02/15/5...So what’s the scoop? The list of 18 included accidental discharges with no injuries, suicides with no other injuries, and nine shootings where there were zero injuries at all.Here’s the original sensationalist gun-control activist’s list (“The long, shameful list of school shootings in America”), with some asterices from politifact above:Jan. 3, East Olive Elementary, St. Johns, Mich., Man committed suicide in parking lot. No other injuries. The building was not being used as a school, as East Olive had been shut down more than six months earlier.Jan. 4, New Start High, Seattle, Unidentified shooter fired shots into building. No injuries.Jan. 10, Grayson College, Denison, Texas, Student unintentionally fired a bullet from gun legally possessed by an instructor that struck a wall. No injuries.Jan. 10, Coronado Elementary, Sierra Vista, Ariz., Student committed suicide in bathroom. No other injuries.Jan. 10, California State University, San Bernardino, Gunshots, most likely fired from off campus, hit a campus building window. No injuries.Jan. 15, Wiley College, Marshall, Texas, Shots fired from car in parking lot, with one shot hitting window of residence hall. No injuries.Jan. 20, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C., One student wounds another student during argument at sorority party.Jan. 22, Italy High, Italy, Texas, Student opens fire in cafeteria, wounding one student before firing at another student and missing.Jan. 22, NET Charter High, Gentilly, La., Unknown person fired shots at students standing in parking lot. No injuries from gunshots.Jan. 23, Marshall County High, Benton, Ky., 2 students left dead in mass shooting by student. More than a dozen students injured.Jan. 25, Murphy High, Mobile, Ala., Student fired into the air outside school after argument in school. No injuries.Jan. 26, Dearborn High, Dearborn, Mich., Individual ejected from game for fighting was shot at in parking lot. No injuries.Jan. 31, Lincoln High, Philadelphia, Man fatally wounded in fight in parking lot.Feb. 1, Salvador B. Castro Middle, Los Angeles, Student unintentionally fires gun in classroom, wounds two students.Feb. 5, Oxon Hill High, Oxon Hill, Md., Student wounded in parking lot during apparent robbery.Feb. 5, Harmony Learning K-12, Maplewood, Minn., Student pressed trigger on school liaison officer’s gun. No injuries.Feb. 8, Metropolitan High, New York, N.Y., Student fired gun into floor in classroom. No injuries.Feb. 14, Stoneman Douglas High, Parkland, Fla., Ex-student allegedly commits mass shooting; 17 deaths.So go back and count: how many of those pass your sniff test? How many of those could you sleep at night after calling them “school shootings” without an explanation or disclaimer? And which media sources told you such without explanation or disclaimer? Maybe they didn’t know, maybe those anchors and late night talk show hosts are just reading cue cards—but someone wrote those cue cards; someone was either too negligent to be called a journalist or lying to you. Rinse and repeat and you have the echo chamber of “the unquestionable integrity of the fourth estate.”The truth is, 27 kids died in school shootings in 2017. Yes, that’s 27 too many, but out of 150,000 schools and 60,000,000 students… I’m not being callous, but that may indeed within the threshold of statistical zero. Again, not saying there aren’t things we should change or that 27 is acceptable, just that those running around with their hair on fire and those attempting to light your hair on fire may not be the most genuine of voices.I personally am not a purist in either direction about guns. But I am part of a generation that sees the news media primarily as a political machine, with no signNow history of telling the truth. We call them a crucial part of the democratic process for their responsibility to fight information asymmetry, but as such, the people need to spend as much effort holding them accountable as they claim to spend holding the politicians accountable.