MI needs to talk about race and equity.
“It is hard to have confidence in an environment like this and to be a minority is really diffucult.” – Kelly John-Lewis
P
do ns
at
Biracial
3%
Hispanic
2%
African American Other
1%
< 1%
– Channing Martin, Junior
– Nia Tate, Junior
Editors-in-Chief: Grady Short and Sophie Poole Front Editor: Lucille Shield Features Editor: Isabel Funk Sports Editor: Reid Martinez Spread Editor: Ellie Gottesman Opinions Editor: Grady Short A&E Editor: Sophie Poole Back Page Editor: Ellie Gottesman Online Editors: Ellie Gottesman, Reid Martinez, and Maya Virdell Humor Editor Spencer Klein Cartoonist Teddy Fischer Business Manager Jake D’Souza Adviser: Chris Twombley Staff Writers: Isabelle Arenson, Samantha Bender, Annika Bhananker, Benjamin Capuano, Joshua Chang, Zoe Chen, Landon Cobbs, Evan Dickstein, Sabine Drake, Katherine Francke, Claire Korthius-Smith, Henry LeMaster, Susanna Lepow, Cordelia Longo, Isabella Mancuso, Isabella Pangallo, Annie Poole, Baran Fotouhiyeh Pour, Ethan Preston, Abraham Schenck, Annawee Swartz, Liliana Szafir, Roni Talby, Max Thilen, Lauren Umbehocker, Henry Watson, Hannah Whobrey, and Emily Yang.
based clubs,” said junior Nia Tate. “But other than that, I personally feel as if people are forced into being inclusive with minorities, making it seem like it is a job.” “For example, my freshman year in Bridges, the theme was ‘diversity’ where we watched BuzzFeed videos that ridiculed the black culture.” said Martin. “Which in my eyes, being black, I felt completely uncomfortable.” It is critical not to bash or accuse, but rather to raise awareness and start discussions on the lack of support for school minorities. A tendency exists to shy away from difficult topics — like race and diversity. “The diversity in the Mercer Island community is an issue, and when the principals and/ or admins try to promote or show off our diversity, it ends up becoming a joke with the students,” said Tate. “So instead of telling everyone our community is diverse, we should work with what we have and possibly have events to help others from different races talk to one another and learn more about each other’s cultures.”
“When I first started going to school here, no one – not even a teacher or staff member – had the same complexion as me.”
“I personally feel as if people are forced into being inclusive with minorities, making it seem like it is a job.”
9100 SE 42ND STREET MERCER ISLAND, WA 98040 MIHSISLANDER@GMAIL.COM WWW.MIHSISLANDER.ORG
5
15%
201
Asian
77%
ro
Caucasian
The MIHS ISLANDER
nd f m
of Merce n o i r Is t a l ba s e la u p t o ist
ic s
(continued from front) Because of Mercer Island’s culture, students feel pressured not to embrace who they are. The problem of equity also arises in the topic of support toward minorities. “The only way to show equality is to show equity,” said JohnLewis. “In my opinion, I have not seen that in 19 years on Mercer Island.” Commonly, equality is thought of as the answer to injustice. However, sometimes in order to obtain equality, simply treating someone or something the same way as others will not make it equal. Equality is the state of being equal in status or rights, whereas equity is the quality of being fair and impartial. In addition, while the clubs and programs that exist at MIHS to support people of color are not being denied nor accused, their intended result is not always realized at the end of the day. “Mercer Island attempts to be inclusive to the minorities in the community by having all these great diversity-
Purpose
Nondiscrimination Notification
To provide news to the Mercer Island High School student body and members of the surrounding community in a manner that accurately reflects the readers’ interests.
the basis of sex, race, creed, religion, color, national origin, age, veteran or military status,
Editorial Policy
other designated youth groups. The Mercer Island School District offers classes in many
The Mercer Island School District does not discriminate in any programs or activities on sexual orientation, gender expression or identity, marital status, disability, or the use of a trained dog guide or service animal and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and
The Islander accepts and welcomes feedback from its readers. Anyone wishing to submit to The Islander must e-mail his submission to mihsislander@gmail.com or deliver it by hand to Chris Twombley. All submissions must be submitted two weeks before the next publication date, which can be found at any of our distribution boxes. All handwritten submissions must be signed to be considered for publication. No submissions will be published anonymously. Submissions are subject to grammar and spelling. All submissions become property of MIHS Islander.
College and Career Readiness Programs, admission to which is non-discriminatory. Lack
Ads
Harassment, Intimidation and Bullying (HIB) Coordinator: Erin Battersby, Senior Director (206) 230-6227 erin.battersby@mercerislandschools.org
To print an ad in a future issue of The Islander, contact Business Manager Jake D’Souza at mihsislander@gmail.com for rates and information.
All electronic mail messages in connection with Mercer Island School District business which are sent or received by this account are subject to the Washington State Public Records Act and may be disclosed to third parties.
of English-language proficiency will not be a barrier to admission and participation in those programs.
The following people have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the nondiscrimination policies: Civil Rights Compliance Coordinator: Erin Battersby, Senior Director (206) 230-6227 erin.battersby@mercerislandschools.org
Title IX Compliance Coordinator: Erin Battersby, Senior Director (206) 230-6227 erin.battersby@mercerislandschools.org Section 504 & ADA Coordinator: Dr. Lindsay Myatich, Director (206) 236-3326 lindsay.myatich@mercerislandschools.org