Black Friday

Jasmine Wu
Black Friday

While people normally associate Black Friday as ‘the Friday after Thanksgiving’ or as ‘the official start of Christmas shopping’, most don’t think of it as ‘that-one-day-in-2008-when-everyone-in-Walmart-went-crazy-over-sales-and-trampled-an-employee’.

Remember the day after you got back from Thanksgiving break last year? How everyone was talking about that one Wal-Mart killing? If you don’t: On Nov. 28, at about 4:45 a.m., shoppers that had been anxiously waiting outside a New York Wal-Mart became out of control. The large 2,000-person crowd pressed against the sliding doors, but the doors gave into the weight and pressure and shattered. The mob swarmed throughout the store, the high of sales running through them as they scrambled to pick up those Black Friday bargains. The shoppers seemed to be ignorant, however, of how an employee by the name Jdimytai Damour, hired temporarily for the holiday season, was thrown to the floor and killed of asphyxiation. A 28-year-old woman, who was 8 months pregnant, was also taken to the hospital for treatment.

After it was discovered that a man had been killed and some others seriously injured by the sale-crazed crowd, officials hurried to usher people out of the store. However, some recalled how people were grumbling about how they hadn’t finished their shopping yet. One crowd control expert said there was absolutely no excuse for the shopper’s behavior: “It's stupidity. It's ignorance. But the consequence is human life.”

But what can be done to ensure that a similar incident doesn’t occur? Some ask why the accident had happened in the first place, and others wonder where security was when the crowd reached their point of madness. Some witnesses said that police would come once in a while to check on the crowd to make sure nothing was too out of place, but at 4:55 a.m., they were nowhere to be seen. Granted, the police in that area won’t be making the same mistake again, and security around the nation will learn from their mistakes, but perhaps Wal-Mart will put some new crowd control strategies into use, such as reducing the “competition” to get in the store. According to one crowd control expert, giving people tickets or having them line up in a line with snaked ropes will make them understand the order that people will be going in. This way, they’ll know it’s a fair system because those who waited the longest get to go in line first. Wal-Mart has also proposed extending hours so the store is open all 24-hours on Black Friday, but two cities have already rejected the proposal and some shoppers don't believe this will help the crowds.

So if you can’t think of anything to do over this long five day break, head to our local mall or other retailers and see what sales they have. Or, if you’re feeling more adventurous, go out of town and go all out in this year’s Black Friday. Don’t worry about too crazed crowds getting out of control, though, because many retailers have learned from the incident at Wal-Mart and are determined to make sure you have your sales with your safety.

*I'm still waiting on some quotes from people :]

While people normally associate Black Friday as "the Friday after Thanksgiving" or as "the official start of Christmas shopping," most don’t think of it as "that-one-day-in-2008-when-everyone-in-Walmart-went-crazy-over-sales-and-trampled-an-employee."

Remember the day after you got back from Thanksgiving break last year? How everyone was talking about that one Wal-Mart killing? If you don’t: On Nov. 28, at about 4:45 a.m., shoppers that had been anxiously waiting outside a New York Wal-Mart became out of control. The large 2,000-person crowd pressed against the sliding doors, but the doors gave into the weight and pressure and shattered. The mob swarmed throughout the store, the high of sales running through them as they scrambled to pick up those Black Friday bargains. The shoppers seemed to be ignorant, however, of how an employee by the name Jdimytai Damour, hired temporarily for the holiday season, was thrown to the floor and killed of asphyxiation. A 28-year-old woman, who was 8 months pregnant, was also taken to the hospital for treatment.

After it was discovered that a man had been killed and some others seriously injured by the sale-crazed crowd, officials hurried to usher people out of the store. However, some recalled how people were grumbling about how they hadn’t finished their shopping yet. One crowd control expert said there was absolutely no excuse for the shopper’s behavior: “It's stupidity. It's ignorance. But the consequence is human life.”

But what can be done to ensure that a similar incident doesn’t occur? Some ask why the accident had happened in the first place, and others wonder where security was when the crowd reached their point of madness. Some witnesses said that police would come once in a while to check on the crowd to make sure nothing was too out of place, but at 4:55 a.m., they were nowhere to be seen. Granted, the police in that area won’t be making the same mistake again, and security around the nation will learn from their mistakes, but perhaps Wal-Mart will put some new crowd control strategies into use, such as reducing the “competition” to get in the store. According to one crowd control expert, giving people tickets or having them line up in a line with snaked ropes will make them understand the order that people will be going in. This way, they’ll know it’s a fair system because those who waited the longest get to go in line first. Wal-Mart has also proposed extending hours so the store is open all 24-hours on Black Friday, but two cities have already rejected the proposal and some shoppers don't believe this will help the crowds.

So if you can’t think of anything to do over this long five day break, head to our local mall or other retailers and see what sales they have. Or, if you’re feeling more adventurous, go out of town and go all out in this year’s Black Friday. Don’t worry about too crazed crowds getting out of control, though, because many retailers have learned from the incident at Wal-Mart and are determined to make sure you have your sales with your safety.

- MUCH better than last month (:
- Once again, very well-written
- Not sure how well this works as a news article, it feels a bit more like features, but the subject matter is interesting regardless
- Be sure to add in quotes and what not from AHS students or even teachers (because you have to LOL) but also it would make it sound more New-sy
- don't frame labels with apostrophes, just use quotation marks
- Overall, good job!

Black Friday is coming up, falling on Nov. 27 this year. While people normally associate Black Friday as “the Friday after Thanksgiving” or as “the official start of Christmas shopping,” most don’t think of it as “that-one-day-in-2008-when-everyone-in-Walmart-went-so-crazy-over-sales-that-an-employee-got-trampled-and-killed.”

In case you don’t remember: On Nov. 28, at about 4:45 a.m., shoppers that had been anxiously waiting outside a New York Wal-Mart grew restless and eventually out of control. The large 2,000-person crowd pressed against the sliding doors, which eventually gave into the weight and pressure and shattered. The mob swarmed the store, the high of sales running through them as they scrambled to pick up Black Friday bargains. The shoppers seemed to be ignorant, however, of how an employee by the name Jdimytai Damour, hired temporarily for the holiday season, was thrown to the floor, trampled, and killed. Sophomore Josie Yang says about the incident: “I was really shocked; I remember thinking about how heartless people are that they would choose saving a few bucks over saving a man's life.” A 28-year-old woman, 8 months pregnant, was also taken to the hospital for treatment but was reported as fine upon release.

After it was discovered that a man had been killed and some others had been seriously injured by the sale-crazed crowd, officials hurried to usher people out of the store. However, some recalled how people were grumbling about how they hadn’t finished their shopping yet. One crowd control expert said there was absolutely no excuse for the shopper’s behavior: “It's stupidity. It's ignorance. But the consequence is human life.” Freshman Rita Wang said, “[Even more so] now because of our economic stance, I think that [people] are driven by some selfishness inside of them even if others are hurt just because of the adrenaline rush from just seeing a 50% off sign.”

But what can be done to ensure that a similar incident doesn’t occur? Some ask why the accident had happened in the first place, and others wonder where security was when the crowd reached their point of madness. Several witnesses said that police would come once in a while to check on the crowd to make sure nothing was too out of place, but at 4:55 a.m., they were nowhere to be seen.

Granted, the police in that area won’t be making the same mistake again, and security around the nation will learn from their mistakes, but perhaps Wal-Mart will put some new crowd control strategies into use, such as reducing the “competition” to get in the store. Sophomore Jenny Wei agreed and said, “I think the officials of Walmart should enforce just one line of customers to enter their store. A single line would eliminate any trampling, and would be a first come, first serve basis. But this single line must be enforced in order to be successful.” Wal-Mart has also proposed extending hours so the store is open all 24-hours on Black Friday, but two cities have already rejected the proposal and some other shoppers believe this will just cause the crowds to come earlier.

So if you can’t think of anything to do over this long five day break, head over to any retailer, as they are almost certain to have a Black Friday sale of some sort. Don’t worry about too crazed crowds getting out of control, though, because many retailers have learned from the incident at Wal-Mart and are determined to make sure you have your sales with your safety.

Black Friday is coming up, falling on Nov. 27 this year. While people normally associate Black Friday as “the Friday after Thanksgiving” or as “the official start of Christmas shopping,” most don’t think of it as “that-one-day-in-2008-when-everyone-in-Walmart-went-so-crazy-over-sales-that-an-employee-got-trampled-and-killed.”

In case you don’t remember: On Nov. 28, at about 4:45 a.m., shoppers that had been anxiously waiting outside a New York Wal-Mart grew restless and eventually out of control. The large 2,000-person crowd pressed against the sliding doors, which eventually gave into the weight and pressure and shattered [Reword into something like: With two thousand people pressed against it, the sliding doors shattered under the weight and prsesure]. The mob swarmed the store, the high of sales running through them as they scrambled to pick up Black Friday bargains. The shoppers seemed to be ignorant, however, of how an employee by the name Jdimytai Damour, hired temporarily for the holiday season, was thrown to the floor, trampled, and killed. Sophomore Josie Yang says about the incident: “I was really shocked; I remember thinking about how heartless people are that they would choose saving a few bucks over saving a man's life.” A 28-year-old woman, 8 months pregnant, was also taken to the hospital for treatment but was reported as fine upon release.

After it was discovered that a man had been killed and some others had been seriously injured by the sale-crazed crowd, officials hurried to usher people out of the store. However, some recalled how people were grumbling about how they hadn’t finished their shopping yet. One crowd control expert said there was absolutely no excuse for the shopper’s behavior: “It's stupidity. It's ignorance. But the consequence is human life.” Freshman Rita Wang said, “[Even more so] now because of our economic stance, I think that [people] are driven by some selfishness inside of them even if others are hurt just because of the adrenaline rush from just seeing a 50% off sign.”

But what can be done to ensure that a similar incident doesn’t occur? Some ask why the accident had happened in the first place, and others wonder where security was when the crowd reached their point of madness. Several witnesses said that police would come once in a while to check on the crowd to make sure nothing was too out of place, but at 4:55 a.m., they were nowhere to be seen.

Granted, the police in that area won’t be making the same mistake again, and security around the nation will learn from their mistakes, but perhaps Wal-Mart will put some new crowd control strategies into use, such as reducing the “competition” to get in the store [run-on]. Sophomore Jenny Wei agreed and said, “I think the officials of Walmart should enforce just one line of customers to enter their store. A single line would eliminate any trampling, and would be a first come, first serve basis. But this single line must be enforced in order to be successful.” Wal-Mart has also proposed extending hours so the store is open all 24-hours on Black Friday, but two cities have already rejected the proposal and some other shoppers believe this will just cause the crowds to come earlier.

So if you can’t think of anything to do over this long five day break, head over to any retailer, as they are almost certain to have a Black Friday sale of some sort. Don’t worry about too crazed crowds getting out of control, though, because many retailers have learned from the incident at Wal-Mart and are determined to make sure you have your sales with your safety [you will have both safety and amazing sales].

Black Friday is coming up, falling on Nov. 27 this year. While people normally associate Black Friday as “the Friday after Thanksgiving” or as “the official start of Christmas shopping,” most don’t think of it as “that-one-day-in-2008-when-everyone-in-Walmart-went-so-crazy-over-sales-that-an-employee-got-trampled-and-killed.”

In case you don’t remember: On Nov. 28, at about 4:45 a.m., shoppers that had been anxiously waiting outside a New York Wal-Mart grew restless and eventually out of control With two thousand people pressing toward the store, the sliding doors shattered under the weight and pressure. The mob swarmed the store, the high of sales running through them as they scrambled to pick up Black Friday bargains. The shoppers seemed to be ignorant, however, of how an employee by the name Jdimytai Damour, hired temporarily for the holiday season, was thrown to the floor, trampled, and killed. Sophomore Josie Yang says about the incident: “I was really shocked; I remember thinking about how heartless people are that they would choose saving a few bucks over saving a man's life.” A 28-year-old woman, 8 months pregnant, was also taken to the hospital for treatment but was reported as fine upon release.

After it was discovered that a man had been killed and some others had been seriously injured by the sale-crazed crowd, officials hurried to usher people out of the store. However, some recalled how people were grumbling about how they hadn’t finished their shopping yet. One crowd control expert said there was absolutely no excuse for the shopper’s behavior: “It's stupidity. It's ignorance. But the consequence is human life.” Freshman Rita Wang said, “[Even more so] now because of our economic stance, I think that [people] are driven by some selfishness inside of them even if others are hurt just because of the adrenaline rush from just seeing a 50% off sign.”

But what can be done to ensure that a similar incident doesn’t occur? Some ask why the accident had happened in the first place, and others wonder where security was when the crowd reached their point of madness. Several witnesses said that police would come once in a while to check on the crowd to make sure nothing was too out of place, but at 4:55 a.m., they were nowhere to be seen.

Granted, the police in that area won’t be making the same mistake again, and security around the nation will learn from their mistakes; perhaps Wal-Mart will also put some new crowd control strategies into use, such as reducing the “competition” to get in the store. Sophomore Jenny Wei agreed and said, “I think the officials of Walmart should enforce just one line of customers to enter their store. A single line would eliminate any trampling, and would be a first come, first serve basis. But this single line must be enforced in order to be successful.” Wal-Mart has also proposed extending hours so the store is open all 24-hours on Black Friday, but two cities have already rejected the proposal and some other shoppers believe this will just cause the crowds to come earlier.

So if you can’t think of anything to do over this long five day break, head over to any retailer, as they are almost certain to have a Black Friday sale of some sort. Don’t worry about too crazed crowds getting out of control, though, because many retailers have learned from the incident at Wal-Mart and are determined to make sure you will have both safety and amazing sales.

Black Friday is coming up, falling on Nov. 27 this year. While people normally associate Black Friday as “the Friday after Thanksgiving” or as “the official start of Christmas shopping,” most don’t think of it as “that-one-day-in-2008-when-everyone-in-Walmart-went-so-crazy-over-sales-that-an-employee-got-trampled-and-killed.”

In case you don’t remember: On Nov. 28, at about 4:45 a.m., shoppers that had been anxiously waiting outside a New York Wal-Mart grew restless and eventually out of control[.] With two thousand people pressing toward the store, the sliding doors shattered under the weight and pressure. The mob swarmed the store, the high of sales running through them as they scrambled to pick up Black Friday bargains. The shoppers seemed to be ignorant, however, of how an employee by the name Jdimytai Damour, hired temporarily for the holiday season, was thrown to the floor, trampled, and killed. Sophomore Josie Yang says about the incident: “I was really shocked; I remember thinking about how heartless people are that they would choose saving a few bucks over saving a man's life.” A 28-year-old woman, 8 months pregnant, was also taken to the hospital for treatment but was reported as fine upon release.

After it was discovered that a man had been killed and some others had been seriously injured by the sale-crazed crowd, officials hurried to usher people out of the store. However, some recalled how people were grumbling about how they hadn’t finished their shopping yet. One crowd control expert said there was absolutely no excuse for the shopper’s behavior: “It's stupidity. It's ignorance. But the consequence is human life.” Freshman Rita Wang said, “[Even more so] now because of our economic stance, I think that [people] are driven by some selfishness inside of them even if others are hurt just because of the adrenaline rush from just seeing a 50% off sign.”

But what can be done to ensure that a similar incident doesn’t occur? Some ask why the accident had happened in the first place, and others wonder where security was when the crowd reached their point of madness. Several witnesses said that police would come once in a while to check on the crowd to make sure nothing was too out of place, but at 4:55 a.m., they were nowhere to be seen.

Granted, the police in that area won’t be making the same mistake again, and security around the nation will learn from their mistakes; perhaps Wal-Mart will also put some new crowd control strategies into use, such as reducing the “competition” to get in the store. Sophomore Jenny Wei agreed and said, “I think the officials of Walmart should enforce just one line of customers to enter their store. A single line would eliminate any trampling, and would be a first come, first serve basis. But this single line must be enforced in order to be successful.” Wal-Mart has also proposed extending hours so the store is open all 24-hours on Black Friday, but two cities have already rejected the proposal and some other shoppers believe this will just cause the crowds to come earlier.

So if you can’t think of anything to do over this long five day break, head over to any retailer, as they are almost certain to have a Black Friday sale of some sort. Don’t worry about too crazed crowds getting out of control, though, because many retailers have learned from the incident at Wal-Mart and are determined to make sure you will have both safety and amazing sales. [On second thought, this might be better as: "they can provide both safety and amazing sales".]

Black Friday is coming up, falling on Nov. 27 this year. While people normally associate Black Friday as “the Friday after Thanksgiving” or as “the official start of Christmas shopping,” most don’t think of it as “that-one-day-in-2008-when-everyone-in-Walmart-went-so-crazy-over-sales-that-an-employee-got-trampled-and-killed.”

In case you don’t remember: On Nov. 28, at about 4:45 a.m., shoppers that had been anxiously waiting outside a New York Wal-Mart grew restless and eventually out of control[.] With two thousand people pressing toward the store, the sliding doors shattered under the weight and pressure. The mob swarmed the store, the high of sales running through them as they scrambled to pick up Black Friday bargains. The shoppers seemed to be ignorant, however, of how an employee by the name Jdimytai Damour, hired temporarily for the holiday season, was thrown to the floor, trampled, and killed. Sophomore Josie Yang says about the incident: “I was really shocked; I remember thinking about how heartless people are that they would choose saving a few bucks over saving a man's life.” A 28-year-old woman, 8 months pregnant, was also taken to the hospital for treatment but was reported as fine upon release.

After it was discovered that a man had been killed and some others had been seriously injured by the sale-crazed crowd, officials hurried to usher people out of the store. However, some recalled how people were grumbling about how they hadn’t finished their shopping yet. One crowd control expert said there was absolutely no excuse for the shopper’s behavior: “It's stupidity. It's ignorance. But the consequence is human life.” Freshman Rita Wang said, “[Even more so] now because of our economic stance, I think that [people] are driven by some selfishness inside of them even if others are hurt just because of the adrenaline rush from just seeing a 50% off sign.”

But what can be done to ensure that a similar incident doesn’t occur? Some ask why the accident had happened in the first place, and others wonder where security was when the crowd reached their point of madness. Several witnesses said that police would come once in a while to check on the crowd to make sure nothing was too out of place, but at 4:55 a.m., they were nowhere to be seen.

Granted, the police in that area won’t be making the same mistake again, and security around the nation will learn from their mistakes; perhaps Wal-Mart will also put some new crowd control strategies into use, such as reducing the “competition” to get in the store. Sophomore Jenny Wei agreed and said, “I think the officials of Walmart should enforce just one line of customers to enter their store. A single line would eliminate any trampling, and would be a first come, first serve basis. But this single line must be enforced in order to be successful.” Wal-Mart has also proposed extending hours so the store is open all 24-hours on Black Friday, but two cities have already rejected the proposal and some other shoppers believe this will just cause the crowds to come earlier.

So if you can’t think of anything to do over this long five day break, head over to any retailer, as they are almost certain to have a Black Friday sale of some sort. Don’t worry about too crazed crowds getting out of control, though, because many retailers have learned from the incident at Wal-Mart and are determined to provide their customers with both safety and amazing sales.