Doing something....

I am heartbroken by the suicide of Tyler Clementi.  I am heartbroken by the pain that we cause each other for no reason other than fear.

I started writing this post on Friday.  I got the very first sentence out before I started crying in my office.  I work at a college.  I work with students every single day and feel the depth of their desire to belong and to feel welcome.  A big part of my job is to help find ways to give them connection to each other, to the campus community and to the world at large.  Everyday I see the many little things that we all do to each other that cause such pain.  Most of the time these things are passed off as "jokes".

It isn't funny.

I have been lucky enough to work with an extraordinary program called SLTP - the Student Leadership Training Program - that has been naming this very real and very devastating problem with bullying and hazing for a long time now.  Why does it take death for the rest of the world to wonder, to question, to say something...?  When do we stop hiding ourselves behind the idea that "boys will be boys" or "girls will be girls"?  When do we stop saying that this is a phase or that it will make us stronger?  How many students have to be hurt before we start expecting more from ourselves and standing up for those that feel so beaten down they can't stand up for themselves?

I work on a college campus and need to do something.  I am working with a group of colleagues to start a dialogue, do some training and start reaching out to students.  It is good to feel like we are doing something and I have hope that it may make a difference.  We work on a college campus with students...It is our responsibility to care and to act.

This isn't a post about joy but about action.  I don't know who is reading this but I urge you to act in whatever ways you are able.  Every small thing makes an impact.  Please make yours.

Ellen's message to the world