Names like Sandy Hook and Virginia Tech turn people’s stomachs today as they recall heinous crimes committed on once beloved teaching grounds.

Crimes such as theft and piracy are committed everyday, but violent acts like mass murder gain far more attention and make people wary of what are meant to be our country’s safe havens: schools.

School shootings are such rare occurrences but they bring about extreme dread in society.  Therefore they should not be so widely publicized.

While citizens deserve to be informed of world events, both miracles and catastrophes, the media does not look out for the public’s best interest when plastering dramatic headlines and photos all over televisions and magazine covers.

Just like all industries in the cutthroat business world, people who work in the media have strategies to put their companies on top. But they should not have the right to use school shootings as one of their methods to do so.

Even California High psychology students would be able to recognize how the frequency of violence on news programs affect the human mind to create a bias known as the “availability heuristic.”

The glossary on the AlleyDog psychology website defines this mental shortcut as “how easily something that you’ve seen or heard can be accessed in your memory.”

In other words, the most memorable and talked about events are the ones that people expect to happen in their own lives, even if they are truly rare occurrences.

After Columbine High School in Colorado made headlines in 1999, when two seniors there killed 12 students and one teacher, people nationwide began to fear their schools were also vulnerable to such crimes.  But according to the law enforcement bulletin on the FBI website, homicides in schools have decreased since 1994 and bullying remains to be the biggest problem.

Research conducted by the University of Miami between 2004 and 2005 found that only about one in 2,000,000 school-age youths would die from homicide or suicide each year.

The study also revealed that less than 2 percent of homicides of school-age youths occur at school.

Still, media has been able to scare countless communities into taking extreme measures to protect their schools. These range from utilizing metal detectors to arming teachers in Texas.

After the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut in December, Cal High staff members began wearing ID badges on campus and the back entrance to campus near the football field is locked during school hours for safety purposes.  This back gate was never a problem before, so why does it  suddenly have a huge impact on the school’s safety?

Because the mass media said we are all in grave danger of becoming victims to a mass murderer.

In fact, The Institute of Education Services surveyed a group of students ages 12 to 18 and found that only about .3 percent reported themselves as victims to serious violent crimes as of 2009.

When discussing violent acts such as those committed at Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook certain media outlets make it seem as though many more similar tragedies are inevitable as long as gun control laws remain static.

While I don’t have strong feelings either way regarding gun control, it is wrong to manipulate times of grief to gain support for political standpoints.

For example, a commercial for demandaplan.org features celebrities such as Jennifer Anniston, Will Ferrell, and Chris Rock listing off locations where mass shootings occurred, many of which were at schools, and asking for stricter gun control “as Americans.”

These people all have the rights of their opinions and to express those opinions, but there is a good chance that they are being taken advantage of by extremists seizing the opportunity to gain support from the population.

There is a time and place to stand up for political opinions, but in the wake of a mass murder is not one of them. By giving so much attention to violent acts, those more inclined to commit crimes might feel more encouraged to go through with their plans and become infamous.

Although it didn’t occur on school grounds, the highly anticipated premiere of “Batman: The Dark Knight Rises” is a perfect example of how glorified villains like The Joker can encourage copycat crimes.

When the media flaunts dramatic claims in order to draw attention it also disregards how it might affect people who still mourn family members.

It is difficult enough for the families to deal with newly vacant places at home, but seeing the face of a loved one’s murderer on every newsstand only adds salt to the wound.

The world should pay respect to deaths of fellow citizens, but tributes on every television channel could very well just bring back horrifying memories to families and break their hearts just a little more.