Repeatedly, alumni mention the fact that they have felt like rolling stones. Some say they felt they had no roots. Others have expressed the fact that they have always felt "different" and that other people never quite understood the experience of spending time in a foreign country, living in a different culture. The experience opened our eyes, broadened our views and increased our tolerance.

Incredibly, even those who were "infamous" on the school campus have become wonderful human beings. It doesn't matter what we are today, we all seem to have taken a part of that "experience" and it has affected who we are.

One former alumnus mentioned, at a past mini-reunion, that maybe there was some cosmic reason that we are all being brought together at this point some thirty to thirty-five years after we left high school, gathering with others who graduated much more recently. As I looked at all the mini-bios and the diverse backgrounds and locations of alumni from the 60s, 70s, and 80s decades, I think he must be right. We can make a difference in this world as individuals, and collectively the impact can be even greater.

What prompts me to write this Special Edition newsletter is the recent events at Columbine High School in Colorado. As a teacher and a parent this is terribly painful and extremely scary. Unfortunately, it is not shocking. Not too long ago a similar event was averted in my own town, in the high school where some of my former students now attend. This is not an isolated incident occurring in someone else's community. This can happen ANYWHERE, even at our alma mater on another continent!

Why? We know why, all we have to do is look around. On Wednesday, while Oprah discussed the Columbine tragedy, children in Southern California (getting their daily dose of Spiderman, Young Hercules and Power Rangers) were treated to live coverage of an intense police standoff in the middle of a California freeway. The standoff culminated in the televised shooting and killing of the heavily armed bank robber by SWAT team members. The news anchors repeatedly told the children that this was not a cartoon, that this was real and to get a parent, babysitter or older brother or sister because maybe they should not be watching. HELLO? What planet are they from? Live coverage of freeway pursuits, some ending in traffic collisions or televised suicides are invading our airwaves in Southern California. Live coverage of disturbing court cases has done the same on a national level. Why are children's television shows (albeit not the best programming) being interrupted by live coverage of very disturbing real life events. For that matter, why should any of us have to watch it?

Why does our President make a statement to the effect that violence is not the answer while we are bombing Kosovo? Where is the logic?

The students at my school participated in Earth Day celebrations. As the trash parade wound it's way through the shopping center near our school, one of the students raised his poster for me to take a picture of it. The hastily made poster read: Recycle this Item. Glued to the cardboard was a newspaper. The photograph of grieving Columbine High School students ripped at my heart. I could not take that picture, but the image of that poster is forever engraved in my mind. How are events such as this affecting the minds and personalities of young children?

What can we do to stop the craziness? I don't know. I do believe that collectively we CAN make a difference. Talk to your kids, listen to the feelings behind the words. Bite your tongue when your boss, spouse, co-worker or other person says or does something that makes you want to react in a negative manner. Put yourself in the shoes of others and try to understand life from their point of view. Take the time to perform random acts of kindness. Avoid the temptation to drive aggressively. Don't try to get even. When you see a teenager wearing a black trench coat, a bandana around their head, pierced body parts, spiked hair, baggy clothes or anything else that makes them "different" -- do not automatically assume that they are "bad". Many just want to make a statement. They just want to belong. The list could go on and on. The important thing is to be a role model for the society that you want to see.