Disappointed in negative spin on Alexander water story
I am disappointed in the Cowichan Citizen‘s recent reporting of Alexander Elementary school’s decision to encourage all students to make water their drink of choice at school.
The inflammatory headlines and negative reactions that were part of your article seemed to be a desperate attempt to create drama out of a positive initiative taken by one of our local schools.”Pop, juice canned at Duncan’s Alexander Elementary” was the main headline in big bold print, a far more negative headline compared to the CTV’s “Duncan elementary school goes ‘water-only’ to fight sugar consumption”. The sub-heading in the Citizen was even worse, stating “Water is the only option for thirsty students”.
This makes the school seem like some draconian invention from Oliver Twist’s time, where parched children are struggling to survive the desert-like situation of Kindergarten. The Citizen did note that school staff, PAC, district administration, parents and most importantly, students, SUPPORT the idea, but then went on to quote “Facebooker’s reactions” as being mixed. Who cares about Facebook? The rest of the article quoted four negative and two positive reactions from a Facebook post that has since been deleted. I am not surprised the post was deleted, due to the high number of negative “trolling” comments posted by non-local people on a teacher’s Facebook page.
I am VERY surprised and unhappy the Citizen chooses to use “Facebook reactions” as a tool of reporting. People write whatever they want on the internet with the false confidence brought by hiding behind a computer screen. The Citizen won’t allow anonymous letters to the editor yet gives credence to the reactions of anonymous people on a social media website.
Darian Achurch
Duncan
