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Editorial

Following weeks of criticism from the public and a hearing that lasted more than four hours, the Shelby County Schools Board of Education officially approved the termination of Avette Dunn.

To say that the backlash from the public over this decision has been explosive would be an understatement. The story of Dunn’s termination has spread like a virus with intense debates seemingly being found everywhere. From fiery comment sections in Facebook community groups and arguments in church foyers to teachers discussing the controversy at lunch tables, everyone seems to have an opinion on the decision.

Is Dunn an innocent lunchroom worker who just wanted to raise funds to help the poor starving children or is she a conniving thief who got caught and is trying to weasel her way out of trouble?

Of course, if you know anything about what actually happened, neither of these things are true but that won’t stop people from reading a headline and making up their mind and proceeding to share it online. Some had already made up their mind before the hearing had even happened.

At the heart of this situation are two main problems that exist at the center of the information age.

Firstly, there is a rat race by the media to be first to cover a story—all in the name of clicks and views—which typically means that the initial story is underbaked and missing a lot of facts and detail which are crucial to understanding what happened.

Second, despite the fact that we have access to more information than ever, people are seemingly inclined to simply read headlines without doing any further investigation. I’m not sure if it is because Americans are just so “busy” or because our attention spans have been fried by social media but regardless, these two factors combine to create the “fake news” phenomenon that is so widely condemned these days.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter which “side” you take. Support the board’s decision to terminate Dunn or defend her. Just make sure you know all of the facts before you do.