Millcreek Teachers' Baseball Bats Make Global Headlines
School shootings: new in-class defense weapons have become a widely seen "symbol"
One local story was recently picked up by most national news outlets, serving as a strange footnote in the ongoing saga of school violence.
On Tuesday, Apr. 10 it was reported that Millcreek School District teachers were given 500 small blue baseball bats. Distributed following a teacher in-service training day, these 16-inch bats were, according to Millcreek Township School District Superintendent William Hall, a "symbolic" statement regarding in-school defense.
In the wake of the Parkland school shootings, the notion of arming teachers has been on the minds of many Americans, some deeming it an unfortunate necessity, while others say it's an insultingly misdirected stop-gap that breeds further violence.
These bats have, for better or worse, become a symbol, but not one that the school intended.
Reaching audiences around the world, these blue miniature bats struck a chord, and the story, originally appearing as a report from Erie News Now, was retold by virtually every major news outlet.
Television networks were quick to pick up the story, with segments surfacing on NBC, CBS, ABC, and FOX News. The story gained ground with print and online media outlets ranging from The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vice, The Huffington Post, BBC News, and even The Daily Show.
