FEMINISM “Working towards spreading awareness and fi ghting for gender equality is what makes someone a feminist, whether they are male or female.” sexual assult, and general gender discrimination, but through my childhood it all felt very distant. My closest friends in elementary and middle school were all boys, and it is diffi cult to be aware of something you never experience. Only once I entered high school and my social group became more of an even split did I come to realize the importance of feminism and how widespread gender discrimination is. ERIK HANSON senior EH: I think of feminism as the advocacy for women’s rights and equality in society. I have always been somewhat aware of the wage gap, cases of A turning point came for me early in high school after asking my close female friends how many of them had ever been cat-called or sexually harassed in any way. Every single one of them had, many, many times. Th at shocked me because it made me realize how widespread gender discrimination and harassment is, even in our progressive community. Hearing my female friends and relatives talk about their experiences was eye opening, and it pushed me to improve my social awareness in a variety of ways. I believe there are too many boys and men who may be vaguely aware but are still deeply ignorant of the struggles women face because they don’t experience them on a day to day basis. Also there may be situations where women are afraid to stand up because they do not realize how many other women face the same harassment by a particular man. To change this we need to engage in conversations at school, work, and elsewhere that revolve around the experiences of women around us. I think actively working towards spreading awareness and fi ghting for gender equality is what makes someone a feminist, whether they are male or female; I proudly consider myself one. STRENGTH IN DIVERSITY “Our school [has] cultures from all around the world, but we are so separated. We have the diversity part, but not the strength.” VR: Th e school takes a lot of pride in this slogan, which should be what the school is representing, but it is not. Our school is one of the most diverse in the district, with cultures from all around the world, but we are so separated. We have the diversity part, but not the strength. Our cultures should be one of the fi rst things that we share at school. Like creating more cultural events, spreading awareness about racism, having more spirit, and more things that we could work on to be more united as a school. Also, we should support the clubs that put a lot of eff ort to bring people together. Clubs are essential, in my opinion, because they create a sense of unity in our school. I think the diff erences should be what unite us. A lot of students have noticed that this is a big issue that aff ects everyone. Th ere should be more attention brought to this topic at school. Even the administration, staff , and teachers need to be involved in this. I think if the students do their part and are willing to get out of their comfort zone to try new things, it’ll bring our community together. I think M-A can do it, with a lot of work. VALENTINA RIVERA senior 38
40 Publizr Home