The Piedmont Highlander

The Student News Site of Piedmont High School

The Piedmont Highlander

The Piedmont Highlander

Slow and steady wins the rac…ial underrepresentation?

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The scholars of Urban Dictionary have reached the consensus that Piedmont is a small town “known for being mainly white with other minorities sprinkled in.”

Although it may not be the most obvious issue at school, racial prejudice exists at PHS and most often it is unintentional.

As a Chinese-American student, junior Shannon Yan faces assumptions because of her race: she’s smart, she’s an introvert.

“It’s upsetting because these stereotypes are not always true but they can hinder how people view [others] before really getting to know them,” Yan said.

Although Yan takes pride in her race, she knows it is only one of thousands of her qualities and wishes that other students could see that there is more to an individual than their race.

According to the PHS profile, 68 percent of the student body is Caucasian and the second most represented race is Asian, at 18 percent.

In addition to the lack of diversity, Yan also sees the connection with stereotypes in the media, at events like the Oscars or on TV shows, that may influence racism and bias among teenagers.

Social psychology teacher Anne Aldridge-Peacock agrees that everyone absorbs racist ideas through the media and commercials, and also sees that influence in gestures and attitudes that people pass down.

“People don’t mean to be racist, but in the back of their heads, there is always going to be a bias,” Yan said.

Yan said that there is a lot of discussion about racial prejudice, which is a step in the right direction, but hasn’t done away with all of it.

“We don’t know what we don’t know and by thinking about other people’s perspectives we can become more aware humans,” Peacock said.

English teacher Rosie Reid agrees and said that anyone can have the best intentions, but not fully realize racial issues or think about how to make the world more multicultural and accepting.

“It can be difficult to discuss race because [students] are afraid of saying the wrong thing or offending someone,” Reid said.

Another factor that makes these conversations hard is bridging the gap between the varying degrees of prior knowledge and awareness, Peacock said.

Senior Ryan Howzell, who identifies as half Latina and half African-American, appreciates that as a school, PHS is fairly vocal about how negative comments about people’s race or ethnic backgrounds are not tolerated.

Peacock agrees that there is definitely a level of awareness; however, there is less activism addressing injustices than seen in other schools. If students are not affected by racial bias, they may not have the motivation to take action.

Howzell also feels that often she does not have a community in Piedmont that fully understands her and her culture.

“It’s not that anyone is affirmatively making you feel uncomfortable, it’s just that you are kind of reminded again that you have a different background than a lot of the people who go here,” Howzell said.

In class settings, Howzell can provide a different viewpoint, which isn’t always comfortable, but ultimately it enhances her learning experience and that of the other students, Howzell said.

“Sometimes, however, people look at you and think you’re the authority on racial issues which is not always the best position to be in,” Howzell said.

Reid said she wants to have healthy and proactive discussions that do not make students feel uncomfortable or at fault for historical events regarding their race.

Recent discussions about race in AP English brought up the question of whether to read the texts, which included the N-word, exactly as they were written or not. At first, the vast majority agreed the texts should be read exactly as written.

As we considered more issues, students realized the emotional impacts of problems that may still be relevant and the class was much more split at the end of the week, Reid said.

“There is a political correctness that often limits students from discussing racial prejudice,” Reid said. “In order to move forward we just need to find a way to have those honest conversations.”

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