Letter from the editor

In recent events at MHS, the topics of hate speech, racial slurs and discrimination have sparked talk between students, teachers and administration.

After the surfacing of a video of a student committing a racially insensitive act, students expressed their anger toward the video, and administration quickly organized a school-wide assembly in which the press was present.

Principal Dr. Anthony Kroll addressed the diversity offered by MHS and how it is one of the school’s strong suits. That diversity is what makes MHS a great school to attend, and many students can back this up.

In terms of diversity at this school, there is no doubt that many children and adults benefit from learning how to work with students and teachers of all walks of life and backgrounds. There is a huge opportunity for students to take this diversity and do great things with it. The assembly celebrated the mixed student body, but celebrated it in a shallow way.

Recent events have sparked in-depth conversations about racism and what acts are considered racist, especially in an environment like MHS and in the real world.

Dr. Kroll had a great opportunity to bring up the following questions for students to consider: How was this act racist, and how does it discriminate against students?”

He missed out on this teaching moment.

Hate, discrimination and racism are not tolerated in the real world, whether the comments or acts are jokes or not.

At a time in our lives where we are developing our own opinions about other races outside of what we have learned in our home, schools have an important opportunity to teach students objectively about how to work together and what racism, hate speech and discrimination look like.

A safe environment after events such as this discriminatory act is not about dealing with the issue or even disciplining the student; it becomes about teaching everyone the meaning of respect and how we can all work together to appreciate diversity.

Not everyone will have the answers to how to stop racism and discrimination, but as a mixed student body, we have an important step to work together to make sure racial jokes and slurs or derogatory names are never said again.

It is in the hands of the students to make sure that administration hears our needs and that we work together to do more than just celebrate diversity; we need to create an environment that respects diversity.

Letter to the editor

If we all chose to see the good in a situation rather than the bad, a lot of unnecessary drama and hysteria would not happen.

But is that ever the case?

With the recent developments involving gun violence across the country and racist remarks at MHS, it is now acceptable to bash and blame the administration and school authority for problems that are out of their control.

It needs to stop.

Take, for example, a fireman rushing into a burning building, and we are inside. He can protect and save all of us, but only if he lets the building burn. He decides that protecting everyone is the right thing to do. We are grateful to be alive, but are saddened by the loss of our possessions. We thank the fireman and regard him as a hero. But what if we, those in danger, were to say that the fireman didn’t do enough? That he should have put out the fire? That he should have saved our possessions when he already risked his life for ours? Yes, we have the right to be upset that we no longer have some belongings, but this frustration is most certainly not a reason to expect more from the fireman. Condemning the fireman, who has saved your life and performed a selfless deed, is selfish, stubborn, narrow-minded and ignorant.

Similarly, condemning the administration and demanding more when they have done everything in their capabilities to protect us and solve these issues is a serious display of ignorance and selfishness. What more could they have done?

They doled out significant consequences to the person who used a racial slur and addressed the problem in a thoughtful manner.

They deployed extensive security for our protection. They let us leave school when a potential threat was brought to light because they were concerned about our well-being.

The administration should continue what they have been doing: fostering our safety and dealing with issues head on. How they have “ineffectively handled the problem,” as some have said, is a complete mystery to me.

Students and parents alike have voiced that the student who used a racial slur was not punished enough, but this student was given a consequence that concurs with school and state discipline policies.

They say that the administration tries to “cover up” these so-called scandals, but I have never received so many emails keeping us informed.

They say that the students are no longer safe, but security and safety measures have gone up.

They say that Principal Dr.  Anthony Kroll doesn’t care because he used the term “hate speech” instead of “racism”.

All of this whining is childish. It’s time to grow up.

Robert St Clair, junior