As far as references to Auburn in pop culture go, it’s decidedly less shareable a la “Check out this cool vid!” than, say, a monkey laughing while Auburn sacks John Parker Wilson. Which probably explains why four months after this hour-long profile on the town and university first aired, we’re just now finding out about it.
Of course, it completely sucks that we had to find out about it, sucks that an Auburn episode of something called “Sins and Secrets” exists at all. It doesn’t feel that long, but it’s been nearly five years since 18-year-old Auburn freshman Lauren Burk was murdered “in a town where an out of control toga party constitutes a busy night for law enforcement,” which of course is the point of the show… which unfortunately feels as if it were scripted by the “People’s Court” voice-over guy.
The Loveliest Village’s Loss Of Innocence (TM) is described with ludicrous lines like: “When residents of Auburn, Ala. call the police, it’s usually to report a drunken undergrad passed out on their lawn. But in the spring of 2008, Auburn residents were being terrorized by someone far more sinister than a liquored-up party hog.”
Oh, and then there’s the impressively tacky: “If every buttoned-up campus kid killed his girlfriend for dressing too sexy, Auburn would be an all-boys school by now.”
But if you can stomach the stereotypes (think we counted four or five “frat boys”), mistruths, and mispronunciations, the little-known details of the case the show presents shed light on some of Auburn’s darkest weeks in recent memory. And somehow manage to make you appreciate Tommy Dawson even more.
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The only thing I liked about that we’re the two shotguns in the background of each shot of Dawson. I like to think that they’re always behind his desk
1. Cheesy show but Auburn came out looking okay.
2. Tommy Dawson is a good man.
3. Lauren Burk will be forever missed.
I remember this all too well – I was a freshman at AU that year. What a nightmare. Having lived there the following 3 years and moving back for vet school, I can attest that it still isn’t the same as it was before that day. Our peaceful little world was shattered, and our innocence lost. Dr. Johnny Greene and the Department of Student Affairs did a great job in responding to the tragedy, with counseling services, as well as instituting more security cross-campus.
Such a terrible loss. God be with the Burks and all of Lauren’s friends.