Don’t Look Away Now’ – Our Terrified Texts During the UNC Shooting

Don't Look Away Now' - Our Terrified Texts During the UNC Shooting

I never knew UNC’s emergency sirens could blare so loudly until the day last week when the unthinkable—and somehow also eerily predictable—happened.

Imagine being in a college newspaper office, trying to write about the latest fashion trends and exciting beauty products, when suddenly, you receive a text alert saying there’s an armed and dangerous person on campus. Talk about a buzzkill!

Now, I’m not one to panic easily, but when the sirens start blaring and you’re surrounded by a small group of editors who can’t decide if they should grab their makeup brushes or barricade the doors, you know it’s time to take action.

As a fashionista, I’ve had my fair share of dramatic moments, but this was a whole new level. We locked the doors, turned on our emergency service scanners (because knowledge is power, even in a crisis), and anxiously waited for any updates. It was like being in a bizarre reality show, where fashion trends are replaced by lockdown drills. Who knew that all those years of practice would actually come in handy?

But then, the unthinkable happened. A graduate student decided it was an excellent time to play real-life Clue and fatally shot an associate professor. Suddenly, our campus turned into a scene from a suspense movie – chairs barricading library doors, students fortifying their dorm rooms with heavy wooden dressers. It was like a twisted version of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

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As a journalist, I’ve always prided myself on finding the right words to convey emotions, but this time, I was speechless. How do you describe the mix of grief, anger, and frustration that filled the air? We mourned the loss of a cherished member of our community, we raged at professors who lectured while sirens were blaring, and we rolled our eyes at the lack of clear updates from the university (seriously, can we get a Twitter update or something?).

To make matters worse, misinformation spread faster than a celebrity makeup tutorial on Instagram. Rumors of a hostage situation, a police officer impersonator, and a campus-wide car chase had us all on edge. It was like playing a game of Telephone, except without the laughs.

The trauma of years of lockdown drills finally hit us like a badly applied spray tan. We were all crying more and sleeping less. Our perfectly curated Instagram feeds were replaced with images of fear and despair. We couldn’t just ignore it anymore. This wasn’t just another tragic news story – it was our reality.

In the midst of all this chaos, we had a newspaper to put together. Instead of our usual articles about lipstick shades and runway trends, we decided to give our readers a glimpse into the raw emotions that consumed us during those three intense hours. We filled the front page with heart-wrenching text messages sent between students, pleading for prayers and checking on each other’s well-being. It was a poignant reminder that fashion and beauty can take a backseat when life throws us an unexpected curveball.

Our story resonated with people across the nation, proving that the impact of gun violence goes beyond political debates and statistics. It’s a universal fear that most of us have experienced in one way or another. And that’s a weight no one should bear.

Yes, our moment in the spotlight may fade, but the scars of this trauma will linger. So, let’s not just be passive observers. Let’s turn our fear into fuel for change. It’s time for action – to prevent these senseless tragedies from happening again and again.

So, my fellow fashionistas and beauty enthusiasts, let’s use our platforms, our voices, and our fabulous style to raise awareness. The cameras may not always be on us, and the headlines may shift, but our determination should never waver. Let’s join together to ensure that our campuses, our communities, and our world are safe places to learn, create, and express ourselves.