I’m working with three resident assistants in my building at NYU to promote this program to shift the dynamic around bullying and social combat.  We’re asking students living in the hall to take the PAY ATTENTION PLEDGE.  Once students take the pledge, they can post the electronic logo on their Facebook page and a hard copy of the logo will be displayed on a bulletin board in the hall.

On October 12, 2010, Joel Burns, a council person in Fort Worth, Texas, spoke for 13 minutes at a public council meeting about how his experience being bullied as a 13 year old boy nearly caused him to take his own life.  Burns was catapulted into the national spotlight when his speech went viral.  I’ve followed him throughout the year via his Twitter feed @JoelBurns, and he continues to provide a strong example of what it means to be an engaged and thoughtful advocate for basic human rights, as they pertain to bullying and targeting young people.

So I had some responses to my last blog post which I appreciated.  I welcome the dialogue on my blog, even if the dialogue disagrees with what I have to say.

I googled the demands coming from Occupy Wall Street, as I wanted to get more information than what I had.  NYDailyNews.com published a piece by Nomi Prins, with the headline “Occupy Wall Street protest demands outline complete and complex reforms to our financial system.”  Take a read.  It’s a helpful piece.

I felt much more emotional about the passing of Steve Jobs this evening than I expected to feel.  I am an avid Apple product user, and I seem to be one of the few people genuinely excited by the new iPhone 4S.  I have to wait until November 27 to qualify for the lower upgrade price, but I’m already chomping at the bit to start my relationship with Siri.  However, I’d never really contemplated Steve Jobs or his legacy.  Yes, I like his products, but his scope of influence only really hit me this evening as I watched the tribute to him on the 11 o’clock news.  I found myself tearing up a bit as the newscaster spoke about him.  I’m not sure that I ever fully realized that Jobs was the brainchild behind the products.  I knew that he started Apple in his parents’ garage, but I had never identified him as being the one to come up with all of these newerproducts.  Until tonight.

I attended a preview performance of The Submission by Jeff Talbott on Saturday, September 24.  Produced by MCC Theater at the Lucille Lortel, the production was directed by Walter Bobbie and starred Jonathan Groff, Will Rogers, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and Rutina Wesley.