There is no doubt that the recent murder-suicide that took place on campus just a few days ago left the South Carolina community feeling heartbroken and in shock. It is easy to believe that something so horrific could never happen at one’s own university when we hear about tragedies at other universities across the country. I know I am guilty of that “it will never happen to me” mindset. However, it is during some of the most devastating events that you realize how a community can rally together and support each other during an extreme time of need.

As a student at the University of South Carolina, I received the Carolina Alerts and subsequent follow-up emails that were sent out in order to inform the student body what was going on. Those texts and emails were the only cold hard facts that I was given. As far as social media information goes, I have Facebook posts and various internet sites that were live reporting the incident, though I was not being told anything that the Carolina Alerts had not already told me. However, other members of the community began releasing information -- true and false -- that began to circulate.

It is inevitable that rumors are going to circulate when an event like this happens. One person thinks they hear something and sometimes what is said can be taken out of context and twisted, creating facts that are not so much fact as they are fiction. Regardless of the event taking place, rumors will be created, and especially in a situation which is believed to be a threat to the USC community. Rumors usually do more harm than good. 

The rumors that began circulating regarding the recent event on campus instilled more fear in my friends and me than we needed. I had friends on lockdown in their classrooms who were being given no information, except what they heard from texts of people on the outside, who had heard false information. Again, rumors are inevitable, but a grasp of reality is more important than anything when it comes to situations like this.

People are always going to be talking and grabbing on to whatever information they can, especially when they are not being provided with as much information as they wish. The important thing is to stick to the confirmed facts.

In the end, the event that occurred was tragic, devastating and eye opening for so many in our community. Despite rumors, the Gamecock community came together more than ever to support each other and honor a teacher whose legacy will live on for years to come.