Expressions of excitement, curiosity, even conspiracies arose in the school community as well as in the media during a solar eclipse. “It’s like someone bit the moon,” said Syrell Gatan, a sophomore. 

“Lowkey, I thought it reminded me of an Oreo project we did of of the moon phases,” said a senior at Franklin, Justine Dompeling.

On April 8, students and staff were granted the opportunity to safely view the event during 2nd period through Eclipse Glasses provided by the district. 

History teacher Aaron Ferguson shared that the experience was a memorable one, considering he was able to witness the event with students. ¨It was nice being able to see something with them that they’re not going to see very often in life.¨

Ferguson went on to reveal that along with the excitement, he’s seen social media conspiracy theories in regards to the eclipse. While there is a lot of useful information online, there is also false information constantly being spread. ¨We need to be very cautious about the media we’re consuming,¨ Ferguson said.

Prior to the eclipse, people took to social media platforms to share these theories. According to Yahoo News, people have come together to form speculations about the eclipse being a sign from God, flat earth, the world ending, and even Government control. 

In response to these media conspiracy theories, English teacher Mary Stoner shared her opinion, stating she thinks social media is overcomplicating things in the sense of both religion and spiritually. ¨It’s nothing more than astronomy.¨

Collectively, the solar eclipse has caused responses and reactions from not just our school community, but beyond to the social media community too. Mixed emotions of curiosity, excitement, and theories spewed as the rare event took place.