Street Crossing “Controversy” Persists News Teams Visit Choate
By Noor Habboosh ’10
News Staff Reporter
What began with a simple Facebook group entitled “Choaties Can’t Cross the Street” has ballooned into an affair that the News Channels 8 crew found worthy of attention.
The mild controversy started when, partly as a joke and partly out of dissatisfaction with the manner in which some Choate students cross the street, students from local Wallingford public high schools Lyman Hall and Sheehan High School decided to voice their discontent through a Facebook group. Choate students had soon created their own group claiming that “Choaties Can Cross the Street Properly.”
The News ran a brief Op-ed piece regarding the issue, which most students consider trivial. However, Wallingford newspaper Record-Journal considered it news worthy, running a front page article explaining the conflict and the perspectives of students both at Choate and at the Wallingford public schools.
The story did not end with the Record-Journal piece. Soon after, Choate’s Communications Department received a request from News Channel 8 on Thursday, April 26, asking for permission to come to campus and do a piece on the street-crossing situation. Both the Head of Community Safety, Mr. Gerald McCormick, and Ms. Mary Verselli of Communications agreed that this situation was not really an issue that could or should be reported on. Ms. Verselli stated, “We didn’t want to lift the story out into the news because we didn’t see it as a real story to report on…We told them that we appreciated their interest, though.”
Much to their surprise, though, the very next morning a News Channel 8 van pulled up in front of the Communications office right next to the disputed 4-way crosswalk at 9 am. A live feed was then done at 12:00 noon at the intersection and Choate student and Wallingford resident Dan Cannata ‘09 was interviewed. Cannata stated, “Usually they (Wallingford residents) are not too happy stopping…but our dean, Mr. Ford always teaches new students and reminds us to give the wave.” When questioned about whether we take the threats, etc. seriously, Cannata replied, “Not at all. Nobody really takes anything seriously…Sometimes they make it up to be bigger than it really is.”
Also during that day, a News Channel 3 van came to the intersection. Upon seeing the News Channel 8 van already stationed, moved to portion of Choate campus very near the downtown area. News Channel 3 was also able to host an interview with Corey Sherman ’07. Sherman saw the van there and the reporter roaming about with the cameraman nearby. Sherman, wondering what the reporters were doing, said, “I went up to the guy, and saw him filming. I asked him what he was doing, and he told me…Then we started talking about the situation and he asked me if I would do an interview, and I said yes.” In the interview, Sherman stated, “I don’t know what the students in our school can do to solve this problem…maybe it just means having tolerance on both sides.” When speaking with the Choate News, Sherman said that at this point, the media were probably making this a bigger deal than it is, but, he added, “Sometimes, that’s what the news industry is about.”
Verselli felt that “this issue was receiving too much attention considering its real importance…We had discouraged them (the news) from coming.” When the news left, the department knew that they were unhappy with the unnecessary attention the news feeds brought with Verselli stating, “We were not happy about this…from our standpoint, this report did not follow our normal protocol. We understood their interest, but this seemed to be taking advantage of students. Nevertheless, Verselli thought students handled their interviews very well and made a good impression on our school.
Verselli said the news report was wrong in mainly two ways. “One being that most students at Choate are minors, and their parents have entrusted us with their protection. This made it like an open field day for our students.” In addition to this she stated, “Another reason is that it is important for our school to look coordinated. Sometimes you might have one person saying something, and another saying something completely different, which, overall, does not make a good impression on our school as a whole.” This filming was, in a way, disappointing to the department because Choate has very good relationships with these media stations. In fact, there have already been twenty-two media stories, and three news pieces concerning events at Choate. It is usually not a big deal if the media wants to come to report on various events, including Seymour Hersh’s speech and the beginning of Arabic classes, but all of these past reports have followed the regular protocol, which ensures a safe and friendly environment.
In all cases, Choate wants to make its campus as safe as possible. There is only so much that the community safety department can do to ensure that drivers and students alike use good judgment and show common courtesy and respect. Because of this, it is up to the students and drivers to make sure traffic flow is smooth throughout the day. Gerald McCormick, head of Community Safety at Choate instructs students each year on how to cross the street, while minding everyone’s time and deserved respect. McCormick told “My Record Journal,” I don’t see this thing as getting out of hand…I know it’s aggravating to some people in town that they have to stop for students all the time, but that’s true at all campuses…but you have to remember, courtesy is contagious.” In fact, it seems many Wallingford residents have taken this to heart, with many letters to the editor (of My Record Journal) in support of students. It seems many who live very near the Choate campus really care for the students and their well being. One woman even called Ms. Verselli, telling her that the students were wonderful, and she told Verselli she felt badly that they were receiving all this attention over something (so trivial) like this.
