In light of the recent resurgence in discussions of diversity on campus, questions like “Where do we go from here?” and “How can our school improve?” seem to be everywhere. We as a staff find these questions to be of the utmost importance if, in fact, we want to shape a stronger school for the future.
In order to effectively answer these questions, it is essential to first understand the school’s current state of diversity.
For this reason, we decided to break the norm, overhauling our March issue in an effort to continue these productive conversations.
Though we are devoting more pages than ever strictly to different types of diversity on campus, we decided to focus most heavily on diversity of race and sexuality in light of recent events.
Additionally, throughout the issue, we’ve placed various QR codes that will lead you to online stories we’ve written in past issues pertaining to a wider range of diversity.
Each section of the paper still stands as it usually does — News, Opinion, Arts and Entertainment, Features and Sports — but hones in on subsets of diversity on campus. Readers can find some of our regular coverage in News, A&E and Sports, but the majority of each section is dedicated to diversity as it pertains to the respective section’s focus.
In A&E, for example, we have a story that takes a look at diversity in casting of school productions (see B3 for the full story). The Features section puts a spotlight on the affinity groups Black Leadership, Awareness and Culture Club and Gender-Sexuality Awareness club, detailing the goals and efforts of the groups and the impact they have on their respective members (see C4-5 for the profiles).
Additionally, on D6-7, a piece examines the usage of the n-word in sports locker rooms.
We are especially excited about this issue’s Opinion section, where, instead of our regular staff-written opinion pieces, we feature solely letters to the editor written by various students and faculty.
We recognize that as a primarily white, non-diverse staff, we cannot do certain perspectives justice. We therefore decided to reach out to members of our school community and have them write about their personal experiences and beliefs.
Ultimately, there are myriad differences that enrich our community and are entirely worthy of discussion.
We feel that our duty as the school’s news source is to provide the school community with the unbridled truth on relevant, prominent issues so that readers have all the information necessary to form their own opinions on such matters.
Everything we do is for our readers and our community, for their benefit and enjoyment, and this issue is no different.
We seek no personal gain from writing about hot topics; we only seek to promote the truth and encourage honest discussion.
That said, we hope our readers will use the information found in this issue to engage in more balanced, critical discussions.
No matter your personal views on how to best effect change, there is no denying that the topic of diversity has taken our school by storm. The articles in this issue will hopefully provide readers with the information needed to develop informed opinions and make informed decisions.
