I can still very clearly remember crowding into a roomful of other students when it was announced that the verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial was coming down the tubes. The news came smack in the middle of what had begun as just another typical day at school, and because of all the attention the case had received, the faculty were hard-pressed to keep us focused on our lessons while there was so much sensationalism in the air.
The teachers seemed to feel that it was important for us to watch the news as it unfolded, in the presence of trusted authority figures that we could talk to if we felt in any way confused or bewildered by what we saw on the television screens. Fast-forwarding nearly 20 years since the Simpson verdict, mass media still has a profound impact upon the classroom environment; especially for the Montreal high school students who recently sat through an in-class viewing of a most gruesome murder.
The teacher (who has not been named) was suspended with pay after showing the video to students in his History and Civics class on June 4, 2012. The video has been the subject of international headlines, as police have stated that they believe it to be a genuine depiction of the brutal murder of 33 year old Concordia University student Jun Lin.
Authorities have been trying in vain to stop the sickening 10 minute video from continuing to circulate online; it captured not only a murder, but also acts of necrophilia and cannibalism -- all in shocking violation of obscenity laws.
