It’s not uncommon to hear people complain that newspapers and the media in general are filled with nothing but bad news.
To quote one recent letter to the editor in this paper: “Let’s face it and be honest, today’s real news ‘sucks,’ as the saying goes.”
Granted, the negative news tends to overwhelm at times.
Examples: A man in Washington state just blew up his house with himself and his two young sons inside. The Syrian government is slaughtering its citizens. Our country is drowning in debt. And on and on.
For various reasons, the public needs to know about this kind of stuft . People aren’t fully informed on reality if they insist on avoiding any news that might depress them.
It should be pointed out, however, that journalists don’t walk around all day waiting for the next big scandal, tornado or terrorist attack. Read the newspaper each day and you’re bound to find at least one thing that lifts your spirits.
For Exhibit A, I refer you to a story that appeared in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Feb. 2.
Two John Brown University students were badly injured last month when they were struck by cars while attempting tocross U.S. 412 in Siloam Springs on foot. Dahye “Sarah” Kim and Eunbit “Gina” Oh were transported to hospitals in Tulsa, Okla., and Springfi eld, Mo., respectively.
Obviously, this is not the kind of news anyone wants to read.
But hold on, there is more to this story.
The fine folks at John Brown University rallied around these two students, both of whom came to the school from Seoul, South Korea.
According to the Democrat-Gazette, university representatives, including administrators and faculty members, were at both hospitals nearly around the clock in the days after the accident.
About 200 students and staft members gathered to pray for Kim and Oh at acampus cathedral on Jan. 21, the day after the accident.
These people created and signed stacks of get-well cards.
The university also established a Web page that provides occasional updates on the students’ conditions. The most recent post as of this writing was Feb. 5; it reported Oh was rehabilitating, while Kim, who just had surgery on her broken hip, remained in critical but stable condition but was showing “signifi cant signs of improvement.”
John Brown students have held bake sales to benefit Kim and Oh, and the university has established a fund to assist them and their families with long-term expenses. (Those wishing to help can do so by visiting https://aerie.jbu.edu/giving/ giving.aspx or by visiting any Arvest Bank and puttingmoney into the “JBU Student Medical Assistance Fund.”)
If your heart is not at least a bit warmed by the support shown for these two students, I suggest you get it checked out.
Last year, U.S. News & World Report chose John Brown as the top regional college in the South. There were 98 other schools in John Brown’s category.
Rankings were based on things like peer assessment, class size, student/faculty ratio and SAT/ACT scores.
I don’t think compassion was measured, but if it were, John Brown would rate highly in that category as well.
If you’re surprised to learn there are two South Koreans studying in Northwest Arkansas, welcome to John Brown University.
This is a school known for its diversity. Most peoplewouldn’t expect a small, private Christian school tucked away in a corner of Arkansas to be a shining example of internationalism.
Yet John Brown drew students from 44 foreign countries this school year.
Eight percent of the student body are from outside America.
This story is compelling evidence the John Brown community will embrace you no matter where you come from. It’s refreshing to see a place where Christianity is not just a motto, but a practice.
And fi nally, my main point: Don’t give up on keeping up with the news just because it’s frightening or sad. Even the bad news has good to be found in it.
DAVE PEROZEK IS AN EDITORIAL WRITER FOR NORTHWEST ARKANSAS NEWSPAPERS.
Opinion, Pages 13 on 02/12/2012