Sulewski 1 Jesse Sulewski Professor Lago English 1100-41 21 October 2013 Rumor Has It The food served in Wayne

Dining Hall at William Paterson University is far from the best. Rumor has it the food contains laxatives, which is easily believed based on the results after eating. Besides personal observation, there are many reasons as to why rumors are spread. Rumors are contagious; they have a snowball effect. As the stories pass from person to person, the rumor spreads and gets bigger and much harder it is to decipher the truth. Many rumors are spread because there is no proof against it, so it must be true. If someone doesnt know the truth, it is easier to go along with the crowd than it is to branch off and contradict a statement that may or may not be false. Sunstein presents many facts about rumors in his essay Rumor Cascades and Group Polarization. He says, Other people are not ignorant; they do know something that is relevant, but not enough to overcome the shared beliefs of many others, at least when those others are trusted (Sunstein 390). Even if some knowledge is present, one might go against their better judgment to please the crowd. Intimidation is a key factor to the spread of rumors, as well. When a large group of people has the opinion opposite of an individuals, it is more likely to believe the group argument. A typical reason for this is because [m]ost rumors involve topics on which people lack direct or personal knowledge, and so most of us

Sulewski 2 defer to the crowd (Sunstein 388). The idea that the Wayne Dining Hall puts laxatives in their food is a perfect example. It is highly unlikely for it to be legal to serve food with laxatives in it; however, when intimidated by a large group of people, it is difficult for one to decide as an individual. The easiest thing to do is agree with everyone else. Personally, I heard this rumor from many different upperclassmen. In my mind, I was just an innocent freshman; I didnt know any better. The older group intimidated me, so I accepted the rumor as the truth to avoid conflict. Professor Lago created an experiment to test the theory of how rumors are spread. She had everyone in the class anonymously right down whether or not they believed that William Paterson puts laxatives in their food. Then, the class was separated into groups and had to come to an executive decision about this belief. The idea was for each person to try and convince the rest of the group to believe their individual idea. Each group concluded that the rumor was indeed false. Then, after the group meeting, each student took an anonymous vote again. The results were interesting. Much less people believed the rumor, but some still said it was true even though every group concluded it was false. In the beginning of this experiment, a large group of students believed the rumor because they didnt know any better. It was the first time ever hearing this idea. Then, after listening to each others point of view, many students changed their mind based on what other people told them. Every group agreed that it was false. However, when the opportunity arrived to vote again individually; a small amount of people still voted true. This proves that intimidation can affect ones belief.

Sulewski 3 Clearly, some people thought the rumor was true, but to avoid conflict, they kept their mouth shut and agreed with the rest of the group. There is another problem with spreading rumors: its fun. Even if it is a known fact that the information is false, the gossip continues to be spread because it is fun. They give people something to talk about. Sometimes, rumors are created strictly for entertainment, or even conversation starters. Sunstein states, On the Internet, informational cascades happen every day, and even when they involve baseless rumors, they greatly affect our beliefs and our behavior (Sunstein 389). All different forms of media promote rumors about many different celebrities because it draws attention to the magazine company. The rumors can be completely untrue but the drama gives the media something to talk about. The stories are continuing to be spread by the people because it is harmless to us. However, these false accusations can really affect the lives of the celebrity. Simple, thought to be harmless, rumors can cause these celebrities to lose fans and ruin their careers. Luckily, there are online sites such as, www.snopes.com that were created to bust rumors. These websites help dilute the drama of the latest rumor. According to snopes.com, an article written by Barbara Mikkelson proves that the rumor about Wayne Dining Hall is indeed false. Just about any drug can prompt an adverse reaction in at least a few people, causing them to become ill, or maybe even to die (Mikkelson). Therefore, it is illegal to put laxatives into the food due to health regulations. The continuous spreading of rumors is a large problem in this generation. With the help of social media, rumors are causing an unnecessary amount of drama. As human beings, we must be able to voice our own opinions in order to stop the dilemma. We need

Sulewski 4 to stop playing Whisper Down the Lane and evaluate the situation as an individual. Having the ability to speak up, and speak the truth, can help the world function much more smoothly in the long run.

Sulewski 5 Work Cited Sunstein, Cass R. Rumor Cascades and Group Polarization. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Ed. Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. Boston: Pearson, 2013. 388-95. Print. Mikkelson, Barbara. Laxatives in College Food. Snopes. Snopes, 6 Oct. 2009. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.