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  • Essay / Project Honors in Action: Many Forms of Incivility

    We began this journey early with themes proposed by the previous team of officers. Following training at the July Summer Institute at the University of Washington, the new team of officers had a plan to disseminate information to members, generate interest and create a committee, but this did not It wasn't that simple. Months after the process began, little has been accomplished. Our chapter faced incivility when we impeached our elected Hallmark secretary for being unreliable, insensitive and disrespectful. Fortunately, something positive came out of this experience. From this exercise was born the development of a motivated member who went on to serve as president of the scholarship and who had the opportunity to lead the Honors in Action project. This also created an opportunity for another member to take a leadership role as Fellowship President to keep our chapter united. At first, there was some animosity between the indicted officer and our newly elected Hallmark Secretary, but we quickly moved forward and got to work. Of the 10 themes, theme 1 was at the top, but we opened it up to members and several others were submitted for consideration. Through a vote, we agreed on theme 1: It's all in the mind, psychology and competition. The first thing to do was to ask members to explore the theme and present ideas on the issue. Among the many ideas, there was apparent interest in the trending issue of bullying and incivility and how it relates to competition. Once we had a new Hallmark Secretary in place, we formed a committee. Via social media, we created a secret page where 19 committee members engaged in dialogue and uploaded their research results and other related information. It was the best way to promote inclusion and make geographic contestation possible... middle of document... knowing that incivility is a growing problem in America, not only with children in schools but also on the workplace, and among key political leaders, and brings us closer to anarchy. This article played a central role in revising our question and helped us appreciate the need for more advocacy and identify the action part of our project.8. “Final Report of the Workplace Bullying Inquiry” by Elizabeth A. Williams, Ph.D. and Yedalis Ruiz, M.Ed. September 2012. http://www.umass.edu/local1776/Flyers,%20Updates%20&%20Documents_files/WBS%20Final%20Report%202012%2010%2004.pdf. These are the results of a study done at the University of Massachusetts Amherst to break down statistics on workplace bullying and also included undergraduates and graduate students. This report has helped dispel the myth in our minds that bullying is primarily “just for kids.” (555 words)