Along with the highly anticipated BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Ariz., this past weekend’s news was peppered with updates about the shooting of a congressperson and federal judge, along with 18 others on a street corner in Tucson, Ariz.
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was meeting with constituents Jan. 8 outside of a Safeway when a gunman opened fire. In total, six people were killed and 14 were injured.
As the University geared up for the big game, students and faculty also reacted to the shooting.
“I would think twice about taking a firm stance and going out into the public, especially in a place like Arizona where there’s so much racism,” senior Michael Delgado said.
Giffords held “Congress on the Corner” events on a regular basis in an attempt to reach out to residents. Such was the case Saturday.
Nine-year-old Christina-Taylor Green was killed in the shooting.
University senior Katie Wich said, “Being a teacher, I would want my students to be active in the community. If it had been at a Safeway here, I would have encouraged my students to go.” Wich, an education major, wants to become a teacher.
Twenty-two-year-old Jared Lee Loughner, the man suspected of the shooting, was arrested on five charges.
Professor Brian Klopotek, head of the Ethnic Studies department, said, “I don’t know what his motivations were … I’m not going to change anything I do with my kids regarding whether or not they go to a political event, but it does piss me off.”
Media organizations and political figures have been pointing fingers at others, specifically Sarah Palin. Months ago, Palin posted a map with crosshair targets on Democrats who voted for health care reform. Giffords was one of them. Palin responded to the outcry by asking people to reject the fact that society is guilty, rather than the lawbreaker.
“I thought it marked a real low point in political events and discourse,” said Tiffany VanPelt, administrative assistant at the Knight Library. “It seems like we’re seeing a lot more eliminationist rhetoric coming from … one side of the political spectrum.”
University student Tanya Parlet said politicians would be less accessible to the public.
“They can’t be that removed,” she said. “It’s absolutely impossible to be completely safe.”
Reporting contributed by J483 journalistic interview class: Stephanie M. Reyes, Bruce Poinsette, Elise Elshire, Jaimie E. Goldstein, Celia Darrough, Tucker Leverton, Neil Beschle, Jordan Eddy, Kylie Keppler, Ariane Kunze, Brianne Limani, and Melissa A. Haskin.