By Keola Spencer
Being comfortable in your own skin is the first step to loving yourself. After all, that old saying goes, “If you can’t love yourself, how are you going to love somebody else?" When people of different races and beliefs surround you, it’s hard to fit in with the crowd. Wahiawa, being one of the few cities on the island of Oahu that contains a military base, is a huge drop-off point for new students of every color in the crayon box. Just take a peek at your peers and you'll see a vast variety of different cultures. Every corner you turn you’ll see people of Polynesian, Asian, Latino, African American, or Caucasian descent. To make things more interesting, or confusing, there are also many people who are biracial or mixed. Some people, however, tend to have mixed feelings about people who are different from themselves both school wide and worldwide. This breeds the concept of prejudice.
With a school that is so genetically diverse, racism is a huge issue throughout the campus. It seems unfair to be judged based on where you and your family’s heritage originated. After all, we can’t be born into the life that we desire. School counselors and peer mediators try their best to resolve issues between two students. Peer mediator, Kelsey Uyeda (11) says that some of the students that she mediates have conflicts due to their different races and ways of life.
On a nationwide scale, a controversial Coca-Cola commercial was aired during the 2014 Super Bowl. It depicted clips of people of different countries singing "America The Beautiful" in their native languages. This outraged millions of American viewers who say that "America The Beautiful" shouldn't be translated into any language except English. Others, however, think that it was a beautiful act of unity between all races of the world. This goes to show that our country is unable to draw the line between human rights and American rights.
In our school, a handful of students aren't comfortable with waking up every morning because they know they have to face a bully when they arrive at school. This problem increases rates of suicide in teenagers sharply. If we bring a sense of acceptance to school, the entire student body will feel more welcome. No matter who you are or where you come from, we are all human and must be treated equally. “The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.” -- John F. Kennedy.
Photo Courtesy of: sodahead.com
Being comfortable in your own skin is the first step to loving yourself. After all, that old saying goes, “If you can’t love yourself, how are you going to love somebody else?" When people of different races and beliefs surround you, it’s hard to fit in with the crowd. Wahiawa, being one of the few cities on the island of Oahu that contains a military base, is a huge drop-off point for new students of every color in the crayon box. Just take a peek at your peers and you'll see a vast variety of different cultures. Every corner you turn you’ll see people of Polynesian, Asian, Latino, African American, or Caucasian descent. To make things more interesting, or confusing, there are also many people who are biracial or mixed. Some people, however, tend to have mixed feelings about people who are different from themselves both school wide and worldwide. This breeds the concept of prejudice.
With a school that is so genetically diverse, racism is a huge issue throughout the campus. It seems unfair to be judged based on where you and your family’s heritage originated. After all, we can’t be born into the life that we desire. School counselors and peer mediators try their best to resolve issues between two students. Peer mediator, Kelsey Uyeda (11) says that some of the students that she mediates have conflicts due to their different races and ways of life.
On a nationwide scale, a controversial Coca-Cola commercial was aired during the 2014 Super Bowl. It depicted clips of people of different countries singing "America The Beautiful" in their native languages. This outraged millions of American viewers who say that "America The Beautiful" shouldn't be translated into any language except English. Others, however, think that it was a beautiful act of unity between all races of the world. This goes to show that our country is unable to draw the line between human rights and American rights.
In our school, a handful of students aren't comfortable with waking up every morning because they know they have to face a bully when they arrive at school. This problem increases rates of suicide in teenagers sharply. If we bring a sense of acceptance to school, the entire student body will feel more welcome. No matter who you are or where you come from, we are all human and must be treated equally. “The rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened.” -- John F. Kennedy.
Photo Courtesy of: sodahead.com