Let's see, an "impromptu dance" at a scheduled time, ...

That is funny stuff right there!

This kind if stuff is what is wrong with today's children. This is disrespectful and obnoxious. People like me are going to be quietly at respectfully shopping around Sunday when all if a sudden we will be interrupted by a group of hooligan students trying to disturb the peace. In my opinion the problem really lies with the parents. At some point they made it acceptable for their children to fool around like this. Today it's a flash mob tomorrow it's drugs. When will it stop????????????????

You ARE kidding,right John??? Do you ever smile? So dancing and having fun in a public place, for a good cause no less means these kids are destined for drugs? Perhaps you consider going to the Pittsburgh Symphony. Maybe the art museum would be better, but be careful...there may be a group of elementary school children there too on a school field trip. Heaven help you if they should appear to be enjoying themselves.

Are these students not in fact bullying the shoppers by their interfering with them?

Near the entrance of a store not yet open and I do believe drugs are a big problem now not flash mobs? Any flash mob arrests made recently in the USA?

I think the bully is John by his offensive remarks

Can't believe the negative comments here. These people must be miserable every moment of their lives! Joyce, I'm with you. Nothing wrong with kids singing, dancing and having fun. Would it be better for those who object if it was a scheduled choir performance like the ones they I performed in over 30 years ago at the mall? John and his friends sound like crotchety, old grumps.

I don't think there's anything bad about raising awareness about bullying prevention, especially during the rise of cyber-bullying, something I see happen here on Patch!

Amen Becky!!! It's a shame we have to even raise awareness to cyber bullying. But i guess its a necessity as long as we have people like John out there.

I can't believe some of the comments made. John you must not have kids and care about issues like this. My child was one involved in this and was very excited to be able to participate. These kids worked very hard and practiced every week so they could do this. These kids are not "hooligans" or any thing like that, they are just kids that care about issues that are going on in the world today.

I appreciate that the editor of Patch expresses recognition of the type of "discourse" that often occurs here, something with which she must deal every day. The pattern that occurs too often is this:

An individual makes a critical comment about a person or issue with which some disagree. Although no Patch reader was targeted personally in the comment, some readers obviously respond to it by becoming enraged;

Angry responses are generated in which the person that made the comment is personally attacked, sometimes with profanity (which is ultimately removed). Some (always anonymous, of course) resort to lies and distortion about the person whom they challenge, usually with no specifics to buttress their argument.

There are many that post here that are capable of disagreeing without being disagreeable and I have enjoyed many debates in which name-calling and insults have not ensued. Would that there were more debate of this nature.

Here's the video of the flash mob in case you missed it: http://patch.com/A-2nkr

The cause was nice but I don't understand the whole "raise awareness" thing? I mean I think everybody knows about bullying and that it exists in real life and online....