METRO SHANGHAI / TWOCENTS
Media exposure that’s safe to consume
Published: Apr 16, 2013 05:53 PM

 

Illustration: Lu Ting/GT
Illustration: Lu Ting/GT

 

The public was shocked to learn this week of a fatal poisoning case on Fudan University campus. A straight-A postgraduate student, surnamed Huang, died in the intensive care unit of Zhongshan Hospital after drinking water from a dispenser in his dormitory, which turned out to contain poisonous chemicals.

Huang's roommate, surnamed Lin, has been detained by local police. The Fudan University official microblog released this news on the night of April 15.

The story has now been widely disseminated by journalists and bloggers and, what follows, is the basic outline of the case.

Huang was recently granted the right to study for a doctorate this coming autumn semester and it is alleged that Lin may have poisoned his roommate out of jealousy. Police know that a deadly substance was somehow added into the water dispenser. Huang felt discomfort after drinking the water and was quickly hospitalized.

Unable to diagnose the exact problem, Fudan brought the matter to the attention of the police who are still investigating the case.

And from this campus incident, we have some important lessons to learn.

Our educational focus shouldn't be confined to academic performance. Character building is at least an equally important pursuit.

And this type of mentoring responsibility lies not only with schools, but also with families. Students should be guided and psychologically nurtured because of the huge pressures they face, both on campus and in society once they graduate. Parents need to help their children from a young age in adopting healthy attitudes towards pressure and competition. If Lin is found guilty of this crime, it will be two families whose lives he has ruined. We need to question what would drive someone to commit such a desperate act, and to debate how we can stop similar tragedies happening in future.

But I also believe that the media and well-known public figures should be more cautious when reporting or releasing news that might lead to copycat behavior, or which could cause panic among the public.

The media have already revealed details of the chemical used, including its name and exactly how deadly it is. Apparently, it is even available from online shops.

I strongly object to this turn of events.

We know that people face all kinds of pressures at home, on campus or in their workplace. And sometimes they need an outlet, or outlets, to relieve that pressure. And sadly, some people go to extreme lengths to achieve this.

The police naturally carry out their own investigations into such incidents, while the media do the same, trying to piece together the story by interviewing friends, family, colleagues and related departments.

From the ordinary readers' perspective, it appears to be a job well done. But we also need to consider the feelings of the family members involved.

As a journalist, I recognize that we are in competition with our media rivals, and that everybody is desperate to get the real story behind the headlines. But we also shouldn't forget our media ethics which I believe is a moral imperative for all journalists.

It appears that Fudan University acted very slowly in this instance. As a top university recruiting thousands of students every year, it needs to take responsibility for everything that happens on its premises. And the school administration needs to provide timely and transparent information to its students and their parents whenever necessary.