Do Students Consider Rumors News?
by MaryKate Roberts

   Since September 11 CCSU students have found they consume both news and rumors more than ever. Almost daily, they have to filter what they hear in order to differentiate between the two. Although students are turning to news more since the attacks, they also hear many half-truths and rumors from the Internet and through gossip. It seems there is no clear-cut line to make a distinction between news and rumors for many students.

Where do CCSU students get their news?

   Television news outlets have reported on rumors in the wake of the terrorist attacks. This has blurred the line between rumors and news even more. The "Mall-o-Ween" scare, for example, was a rumor started through e-mail that warned Americans of planned attacks on malls that were to occur on Halloween.

   Newscasts featured segments about "Mall-o-Ween" after the FBI began an investigation to see if there was any truth to the myth. Even after it was found that the woman who started the rumor indeed created a false tale, many Americans took stock in what they originally heard because it "was on the news." 

   Television is the main source of news for students who reside on campus at CCSU. Often times, students have a second source for news, usually the Internet or a newspaper, but television is the one source that is common to nearly every student interviewed.  Residents tend to stay in their rooms and watch their own personal television sets instead of the sets that are common to large groups of residents, such as the sets in the lounges of dorms.

   Kelly Osborne, a freshman living in Barrows Hall, said she and her roommate tune into television news despite the fact that they both have computers in their room.  "I've always watched the news," said Osborne.  "And now I watch it even more.  In fact, I watch it constantly."

   Osborne's roommate, freshman Katie Jablonski, said, "I feel that living on campus can be more isolating in general, so I like to have the news on so we know what's happening."

   Not all students watch television regularly for news.  Some list discussion as a source of news.  Julia Baldini, a sophomore who lives in Carroll Hall, said she gets most of her news from her friends. She said she believes most of what they tell her, and she assumes they get their news from a reliable source.  When asked where her friends get their news from, she said, "I'm not sure." Baldini rarely tunes into television for news.

News within the dorm:

   News spreads differently within different dorms on campus.  The old-fashioned setup of dorms such as Carroll Hall makes it easy for students to exchange all types of information, including news.  The long hallways are lined with room after room.  Many doors are constantly propped open, so students can socialize with their friends who live nearby. The only gathering place in the dorm is the basement, which is home to couches and tables. There are no television sets in this room, so it is primarily used as a quiet study area, not for socializing.  The majority of socializing is done on the floors where students live, or in their rooms.

   Melissa Shepard, a sophomore who lives in Carroll Hall, said she first heard of the terrorist attack on September 11 from someone who lives in her dorm.  This person came running into her room from down the hall screaming about the attack, and that provoked Shepard and her roommate to tune into television news broadcasts.

   Dorms with different setups, however, are not as social as Carroll Hall.  Barrows, for example, has a much different atmosphere.  Erica Goldsmith, a sophomore who lives in the dorm, said it is isolating at times, "like a bubble."  She said the dorm's narrow, maze-like halls are conducive to its generally quiet atmosphere.  "In other dorms, the halls are straight and lined with doors on either side," said Goldsmith, "but in Barrows, there are lots of little twists and corners."

   Aspects other than the setup of the dorm can play a part in the atmosphere of the dorm.  Lighting, for example, is much different in Barrows than in other dorms.  Unlike the long florescent lights in Carroll and Beecher Halls, the light in Barrows is softer and more yellow.  The thick, beige carpets that line the halls are indicative of the silence that fills the complex network of rooms and hallways that make up the building.

   Few of the women interviewed from Barrows, an all-girls dorm, listed discussion with friends and family as a news source.  "Barrows is great for studying," said Osborne, "but socially ... it can be hard."

   James Hall had a unique setup in that it consists of suites.  Each suite houses 6 or 8 students who share a bathroom and living room, complete with television set.  Due to this configuration of rooms, news is spread between suite-mates frequently and quickly.

   Kristen Sanger, a senior who lives in James Hall, said news spreads quickly via word-to mouth in James.  Casey Hammill, a senior also living in James, agreed with Sanger.  "I come home from class, and there are 5 other people around who fill me in on what is going on." Said Hammill.  "Because we live so closely, we talk about news a lot."

   Still, other dorms provide different experiences for residents.  Dorms that have one lounge common to each floor, such as Sheridan Hall, Gaulladet Hall and Vance Hall offer social experiences in which news is passed along.  Many students living in these dorms list discussion with friends as a main source of news.

   Marie Rosa, a senior and an RA in Vance, said she gathered with students on her floor and talked with them about the news surrounding September 11.

Rumors as news:

   Students living in all dorms are well aware of the rumors that have started in the wake of September 11.  In addition to "Mall-o-Ween," there have also been rumors built off recent anthrax findings, including tales that candy had been contaminated with anthrax.  The majority of the time, these rumors are spread through email, but they are also talked about and spread through discussion.

   Natalie Fillion, a sophomore resident of Vance, said she received many rumors through e-mail and through talking with friends on the floor of her dorm.  She said these rumors have not altered her life at all, but also said, "I open my mail carefully because I have heard anthrax could be in it."

   Sanger also said that she does not believe in the rumors that have spread and they have not changed her life.  "Although," she did add, "I took the day off from work the day of the 'Halloween mall scare' just in case."

   Other students are more forward about the fact that rumors alter their lifestyle.  Aaron Tiezzi, a freshman who lives in Sheridan, said he does pay attention to rumors.  "I didn't go to the mall on Halloween, just to be safe. You never know what can happen."

   Roy Roberts agreed with such beliefs. He said that rumors have changed his life because he takes them very seriously.  "I think that rumors are news," he said.  This idea that rumors and news are one in the same is widespread on campus.  Many students agreed that rumors and news "go hand in hand."

   To better illustrate this fact, the majority of students interviewed said they hear rumors before they hear news.  In other words, rumors spread throughout the dorms before news does.

   Not all students believe in these rumors.  Lisa McGuire, for example, said she pays no attention to the rumors she receives through e-mail. "I don't believe them," said McGuire, a senior who lives in Barrows.  "I just think they are from ignorant people." McGuire does, however, see the primary role such rumors play in campus life.  Her roommate, in particular, believes all the rumor e-mails that come her way.  She also said the people that believe the rumors consider them news.

   "I think rumors should be discussed," said Rosa, "to get the truth out there."

Also contributed to this story: Sarah Peltier, Sandy Rutkauskas, Larissa Lytwyn, Helena Bras, and Dan Ruede