Hero? Hardly

I’m disturbed that “we” have created a hero in Steven Slater, the Jet Blue flight attendant who pretty much followed the theme of Johnny Paycheck’s working man’s (and woman’s) anthem, “Take This job and Shove it.”

But he ‘s no hero, and we need to stop treating him like one. He acted like a petulant child. It doesn’t matter if he was antagonized. He’s a grown-up and is (or was) a professional, and that’s just not how we act. We all have experienced an unruly and rude customer, client or coworker. However, as professionals, we deal with them maturely and appropriately.

My high school pal Gino said it best on his Facebook page this morning. I hope he doesn’t mind my quoting him:

“If we want to be a nation of children who act out for the camera — frustrated bank tellers who might decide to throw bags of money in the street, angry waiters who decide to pour water on patrons, bus drivers who abandon their routes and climb to roofs of their buses to enjoy some cold beer and give the finger to anxious parents — then we’d better understand what we are abandoning. It’s not the America I know where people have always doubled down in their willingness to work harder, be kinder and find a way to stay aboard, not bail out.”

Gino always was the smart one.

You posted what?

Happy Friday.

It was only a matter of time. People wouldn’t be able to resist the temptation to post things on Facebook that they shouldn’t. There’s the guy whose former (or is it current?) wife is accusing of being a bigamist. She found out about Wife No. 2 when she saw their wedding photos posted on Facebook. There was a waitress who was fired after ranting on Facebook about some late-night customers who didn’t leave a very generous tip. And, there are others. These are just the most recent. 

Of course, young people have been using poor judgment on Facebook for quite some time, posting photos of themselves in all states of debauchery. While they may think it’s funny now to see themselves and their friends posing with beer bongs and scantily clad members of the opposite sex, they’re not going to see the humor if those postings prevent them from getting a job. After all, we know more and more employers are perusing Facebook before they make job offers.  

Years ago, long before that nice young man from Harvard ever had a thought about Facebook, a friend of mine once said, “Don’t put anything in writing that you wouldn’t want printed on the front page of The New York Times. I’ve tried to follow that advice whether I’m writing a report, an e-mail or posting a status update on Facebook. 

Imagine how much grief we’d all save if we just followed that advice.

Get that girl some PR help

This morning I read the story — and I’m mortified and embarrassed that I did, but at least I’m owning up to it – that Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston are no longer a couple. In fact, it appears as if she called it quits the same day they announced their reunion. That’s not really a surprise.

What I think is so … well, tragic is the only word I can think of is that Bristol obviously doesn’t have someone close to her with any PR savvy to tell her one simple thing. “Stop. Just stop.”

Near the end of the the article I read on the CNN  website, Bristol says she is putting her house up for sale. She says she didn’t feel safe there; there are too many photographers and gawkers hanging out in her driveway. Well, that’s what happens when you contribute to your own celebrity. It was just last month when the couple, along with their son, were on the cover of  Us Weekly, announcing their reunion. When you keep putting yourself out there, people are going to hover. And let’s face it: It’s at the train-wreck stage now. And folks definitely gawk at those.  

She needs someone older and wiser — after all, she’s only 19 — to tell her to be quiet. Stop talking. Just go to work. Come home. Take care of your young son. Make dinner. Do laundry. Watch a little TV or read a book. Go to bed. And shut up. Eventually, those gawkers, those hoverers, will realize there’s nothing more to see, and they’ll move on to something else.

Reacting without thinking

I still find the Shirley Sherrod situation shocking.

A blogger posts a video snippet of an address she gave to the NAACP many years ago. A major news network airs that snippet, damning her for racism. The secretary of agriculture asks for her resignation. All of this happened before anyone even bothered to say, “Gosh, how ’bout if we take a lot at that whole video first?”

I’m amazed that all of these people — and some very high-ranking people —  just reacted with no thinking involved.

It makes me grateful that I work for a man who has a very unusual skill — he thinks before he speaks and reacts. When I first started working with our campus president, his skill took me a bit aback. After all, I hadn’t really met anyone before who thought — I mean really thought — before he spoke. That meant that there were occasional silences in our meetings.

At first, I wasn’t sure what to do. Most people I know – me included — would want to fill in that silence with something. But, I learned to wait because a well-thought-out response was coming.

Had a situation like this occurred on our campus, our president wouldn’t have reacted without reviewing everything first. He would have asked to see the entire video. He would have talked to her at length. He would have thought about how he would respond before he acted.

And our president, unlike our country’s president, wouldn’t have had to apologize for acting so hastily.

Ads, ads, ads

Our local paper, The Bradford Era, published this morning an editorial that originally appeared in the Harrisburg Patriot-News, opposing an idea by our state’s transportation department to feature advertising on state signs. Department officials developed the idea in the hopes of generating some much-needed cash for the department.

My first thought was, hmm, that’s kind of different. Perhaps we could slap the university’s logo and a brief message on some of those signs. But, I changed my mind as I read further.

Already, there are way too many distractions while driving. Drivers are talking on their cell phones and texting. They’re also eating their lunch, talking to their passengers, trying to break up their kids’ fights in the backseat, paying attention to their GPS, watching out for construction and construction workers, taking note of detours, keeping an eye on the spedometer to keep John Law at bay and, if you live where I do, watching for critters leaping, running, scurrying and waddling into the road.

The last thing drivers need is another distraction. As the editorial writer noted, it’s already difficult for drivers to see and absorb traffic signs. They don’t need added distractions, which ultimately may prevent them from absorbing the original traffic-related message.

If our transportation department is truly cash-strapped, perhaps officials can have a bake sale. I’d be happy to help with that.

Constantly connected?

I saw a woman texting while driving into the parking lot of McDonald’s yesterday, which again made me wonder why we all feel the need to be constantly connected. (Of course, I also wondered, as I always do with texting drivers, why they think they can text and drive well, but that’s a topic for another day. And, I wondered why this woman, who is older than me, managed to get sucked into this stupid and dangerous activity.)  

But, back to our need to be constantly connected.

When I’m driving to work at 7:45 in the morning, I see several other drivers on their cell phones. Who are they talking to, and what could they possibly be talking about? I mean, the day hasn’t really even started. What is there to tell a friend or spouse or boy or girlfriend? 

I’ve also seen students in the gym on campus talking on their phones or texting while working out. On the one hand, I’m impressed that they’re able to talk on the phone and still stay on the treadmill. But, on the other hand, I wonder why they can’t be disconnected for the short time they’re in the gym. And, I see many people walking for exercise around town, talking on their phones or texting.

When did we become a society that so desperately needs to be connected all the time? Perhaps it’s because I communicate with people using various techniques for about eight hours or so a day that I do not feel the need to be constantly connected at other times. It makes me wonder — how did we survive before e-mail and texting and cell phones and computers? Before you think I’m some sort of dinosaur, let me assure you that I appreciate — and use frequently — each of these modes of communication. But, we need to use them wisely and in moderation.

It’s about setting limits. I learned a valuable lesson last month. When I took my BlackBerry on vacation, what did I do? I checked it frequently and responded to work e-mails and sent reply texts. There was no emergency brewing while I was away, and if there were, the appropriate people would call me. I will not take my BlackBerry to the gym. Again, if someone needs to reach me, they know where I am. I don’t want to talk on my cell while I’m driving. I’m just not that coordinated. Plus, unless it’s an emergency, it can wait until I get home or to the office.

So, back to the original question. Why must we be contantly connected? Do we fear being left out of the loop? Are we afraid something will happen we don’t know about? Are we lonely? If you have a thought, please let me know.

Commencement photos

Did you happen to have a friend or loved one graduate from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford on Sunday? Did you know that Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor was the commencement speaker? Or, that this was our largest graduating class in the school’s history? 

We have posted photos from commencement as well as more casual photos taken before and after, along with pictures from our graduation celebration dinner the night before.

The photo galleries are accessible on our Web site.

Commencement

Two hundred eighty-six students — the largest class ever —  graduated on Sunday from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

It’s so enjoyable to watch the graduates, who are so excited, and their families who, in some instances, are even more excited and proud.

It’s also great to hear those special graduation stories that arise each year at this time. This year, we had two mother-daughter graduates and a husband and wife who crossed the stage together. 

And, during these difficult economic times, it was also inspiring to learn about a few nontraditional students who decided to come back to school to earn a degree. 

Another piece of good news

While I’m thinking of good news, I can’t forget this nugget: The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford is also offering free housing to students who take classes this summer.

So, if you’re not a student at Pitt-Bradford, you may think, “So what? Doesn’t apply to me.”

But that’s where you’re wrong. The offer applies to all college students, not just our own, who take courses on our campus this summer.

Again, great news in these tough economic times.

Great news

We got word the other day that tuition on our campus — the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford – will not increase for the 2009-10 academic year. 

Keeping tuition at the same level is always good news – at least for students and their parents — but the news is even greater now in light of these difficult economic times we’re all grappling with.