Starlight Runner Goes Back to School with Anti-Bullying Hip-Hop DVD

New York, NY (Starlight PR) - The hip-hop music video Don't Laugh at Me, an anti-bullying anthem and part of a nationwide movement to deal with the problem, is to be screened for students of the Rachel L. Carson I.S. No 237 in Queens, New York on Tuesday, April 25, 2006, from 9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. Organizers anticipate 500-600 students in attendance for the educational assembly program. The Rachel Carson School is located at 46-21 Colden Street in Flushing. The video's director, Kenn Bell, is to document the event.

Leading the discussion will be Starlight Runner Entertainment's president and CEO Jeff Gomez, who conceived and produced the video; 15-year-old star of the video Baby Jay; Operation Respect Education Director Mark Weiss; and Operation Respect president and founder Peter Yarrow.

'Bullying is a major problem in the classroom, on the playground and on the Internet, where bullying is rampant,' says Gomez, who has crafted a proposed lesson plan to accompany the DVD. 'I am thrilled to be returning to my old school and giving back to the students here. As an aspiring writer, Rachel Carson fired my imagination and introduced me to the rich cultural diversity that has formed my core values.' Don't Laugh at Me was shot at the Rachel Carson School and other locations in Queens, Manhattan and Hoboken.

More than 100,000 children stay home from school each day in the United States because of bullying-related fears and anxieties, according to the National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center. Bullying and other forms of disrespect are a prime cause of low student self-esteem and motivation and poor grades.

Starlight Runner Entertainment president and CEO Jeff Gomez joined with international education and advocacy foundation Operation Respect to address this serious challenge. With his partner Mark Pensavalle and Operation Respect's Elizabeth Kolodny, Gomez conceived and produced a version of the song 'Don't Laugh at Me' that would appeal to inner city kids.

According to Peter Yarrow and Dr. Charlotte Frank, chair of Operation Respect's board of directors and Senior Vice President of The McGraw-Hill Companies, 'Operation Respect is looking forward to integrating the Baby Jay video and DVD in its ongoing work in the New York City schools, and has high hopes that it will add a significant new dimension to Operation Respect's �Don't Laugh At Me' program.'

The video features a rap take on the hit song in a performance by rising Houston-based 15-year-old hip-hop star Baby Jay . Steve Seskin and Alan Shamblin wrote the song's original lyrics, and Baby Jay and Hector Chavera III have created additional rap lyrics to the new version. The award-winning song was a No 2 hit for country singer Mark Wills.

The Don't Laugh at Me DVD and lesson plan (upon approval) can be made available free of charge to anyone by emailing , or by calling +1-212-337-0900.