Another Veishea weekend has come and gone.

Three days that can seem like three years with, according to my rough estimate (which by all means is not an official head count), about three kajillion people roaming around the streets of Ames.

Now all we have left are the memories. Oh, how we laughed. We loved. We drank. We cried.

Our precious Veishea was “marred” by tragedy, as this very publication so crudely put it, slapping the headline big and bold across the front page for all to see. While I understand that the story needed to be told, I guess I was hoping that the media would carry out its duties with a little bit more sensitivity for the family, friends and acquaintances of Uri Sellers.

I am only speculating, but I have a feeling that his family and friends don’t really give one rat’s ass about whether the Veishea tradition will suffer from this tragic incident.

Their own suffering just might take precedence over that worry. The second headline that caught my eye made me cringe even more — “Slaying aside, there were few Veishea hitches.”

This statement is offensive enough to someone who simply values human life, but think of the implications it could have on a person who had been close friends with this young man, perhaps went to his high school or maybe even just met him for the first time this weekend. When horrible things happen like this, it affects everyone — but not like it can affect those who are involved.

It’s no secret that the media has never been known for its sensitivity, and I guess that fact was reinforced by the coverage of Sellers’ death.

Television cameras hovering like vultures for that perfect up close and personal shot of the scene.

Necessary? I guess it depends on how hungry the reporters are for the scoop. Human pain makes a great story, but not a great reputation for the person behind the camera or the news medium that they represent.

It’s one of those days when it is almost embarrassing to admit that I am a journalism major and therefore associated with the people and organizations who are so mindlessly making this poor guy’s death into a multi-media event. I wish I could apologize on behalf of the journalism world, but I doubt it would do any good or change any minds.

But I am sorry. Not only because Uri Sellers had to face death before his time, but also because of the salt we poured on the wound.

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Joanne Roepke is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Aurora.