I've been playing for nine years. My brother started two years before me so that had some influence. I also wanted to try new things and found what he did looked interesting and brought me to where I am today.

We already have a couple of Steinways, but this one is much larger and will better project on campus. Plus, the earlier in life you get to learn music and spend time with it, the more you get to know it.

Our young people are dying physically, mentally, and spiritually. I was told by the Long Island educational system that I would never amount to anything. Now, this ex-gang member is educated.

We looked for dynamics, touch and the feel of pianos and the quality of louder notes. It was out of five pianos, then we brought it down to two and we choose the one that could handle the lower notes as well as the higher notes.

[Regarding Travis Brewer's letter (Aug. 20,] A science lesson ... proved that spontaneous generation requires a supernatural influence.

To have a long term political influence the leaders of this movement need to translate the anger and hope that people are expressing in the streets into a concrete set of proposals for change.