Suffolk County, N.Y. Junior Police Academy Graduation: Media Absent

By Mary MacElveen
July 20, 2009

In modern society, we as a nation sit glued to our televisions when senseless, meaningless and most of all heinous killings are reported to us by the media. The people’s names we often remember are the monsters who carried out these massacres and NOT the names of the victims. Even when the monster took his own life, their names live on. Also, no one knows of the names of the police officers that responded to these massacres. Imagine just for one tiny-second the scene that is presented to them upon arriving. Without a moment’s hesitation, they respond. They do so to help the victims who are often dead at the scene. Just imagine in your mind’s-eye having that in your head as long as you live. To me, I cannot.

In a past piece discussing the Virginia Tech massacre, I wrote where the mainstream media interviewed: “every forensic expert they could find, every security expert they could find and every psychologist and psychiatrist they could find. They lured us all into a psychosis in which we had to know every little detail of the story. Do I feel it is healthy? Not really.” Quite frankly, I do not care what led these monsters to take the lives of so many innocent people.

I guess I am tired of society itself being blamed for their blood-filled massacres. They alone are responsible for their own actions.

When bad kids do bad things such as Eric Harris, age 18 and Dylan Klebold, age 17 who were both responsible for the Columbine massacre, we want to know every little detail which led them both to this destruction of human lives. Their victims ran from them and many knowing it would be their last day on Earth. The same can be said of Seung-Hui Cho age 23 who became known as the Virginia Tech murderer. He too left behind many victims and like Columbine, a community to grieve a lifetime.

Leaving these high-profiled cases aside, look in any newspaper, any broadcast to see the coverage of young men for the most part taking the lives of innocent victims. It makes one want to scream out; enough! Even though I am a fan of the History Channel, I am sickened that they chose to produce a show, “Gangland” Why does the media choose to focus in on gangs, instead of those who wish to protect and serve?

It makes one want to say: What of the good kids who decide to make this world better for all of us? You know the kids who step up to the plate who only wish to make a difference for the betterment of society itself. How I wish the mainstream media would concentrate on these fine young men and women. These fine young men and women are the ones who wish to go running towards any horrific scene and to protect human life itself. Yet, there is little reporting done on their behalves. They are after-all our future heroes. You never see on any broadcast sociologists or psychologists explain to the rest of us exactly what makes them tick. In my eyes, it is a sense of service, duty and a desire to protect us all.

The reason I write this column is on behalf of my son and the other junior cadets who took a week’s time out of their summer fun to attend the Suffolk County, N.Y. Junior Police Academy. These fine young men and women only want to serve and protect, yet very little is written or reported of their efforts. No one knows their names, yet everyone knows the names of young-murderers.

In order to attend this junior academy, they had to be recommended by their high school guidance councilors and a background check done to see if they could become potential police officers. While many names were submitted, only a few were chosen. In that short week, they learned the basics of what it will take to protect both you and me as well as society itself. Yet, no one knows their names.

They had to learn search and seizure laws, how to arrest someone and protect the public. While my son is young in my eyes, he grew up this past week having driven a police vehicle and responding to certain commands given by his instructor. He learned what respect and responsibility was. He even had to press his own uniform. Parents were told we were not to press it for them. That little attention to detail may seem small in your eyes, but a lesson is instilled in these young citizens by having to attend to it. In addressing any instructor, they had to say: “Sir/Ma’am, yes, Sir/Ma’am”

In their training, they had to learn how to act as a unit to protect you and me in the future and that is to be commended as we see our police officers today respond to a crisis to protect the public. Police officers often leave their home not knowing if it will be their last, yet these fine young men and women fully understand that hard-cold fact chose to step up to the plate and attend this junior academy. Yet, no one knows their names. Well shame on the mainstream media for not reporting these stories as they concentrate on the lowest amongst us.

These fine young men and women also learned of other training techniques that will help them to protect and serve all of us in the future if they make the final cut and enter any police academy. While too many to list, it is to their credit and honor, I write this column.

What deeply saddens me is that this may be the last year of this junior academy due to budget cuts. Yet these are the fine young men and women we will surely need in the future to help protect us all. They will be the ones to respond to the monsters that take the lives of the innocents every single day of the year. They will certainly be the ones who will respond to the next Columbine and again, no one knows their names. If you live in Suffolk County, NY sometime in the future as you dial 911, it will be my son God willing that will respond to your plea for help and you will be thankful that he came to your aid. My son’s name is Christopher MacElveen and I want you to remember his name.

Author’s email address is, xmjmac@optonline.net

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