Editorial: Place Yourself in My Shoes

Throughout the halls of Eastview high school there is laughter, smiles, memories which are being made. Unfortunately for some students they are the cause of the crude laughter, the wicked smiles on their faces, and memories which are being made, are ones that are wanted to be kept. At the beginning of this year, all students were asked if there was a good/bad/poor/weak and lack of respect in our school. Honestly, is actually a teen that is going to admit to a teacher that there are teens out there who are getting harassed daily? More than likely no there is not. When I was asked about the harassment, I said that there wasn’t that much, but that was only because I had never experienced it myself….Yet….

Right before winter break I began to date a girl. OH MY GOD! NO WAY?! A GIRL! Yeah, can we move on with the story? I hear that line too much already. Anyway…I began to date this girl who to this day I am still with. At the beginning we were worried about holding hands but finally we decided that we didn’t care what anyone thought. Needless to say, we figured that it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. I mean come on; we have “No Discrimination” signs all around the school. Those aren’t just for show….right? To some, maybe they are just for show, or at least they do not pay enough attention to them for it to even matter.

Place yourself in my shoes, or in the shoes of a another student of Eastview who is gay. You walk down the halls, off to your next class, to lunch, to where ever you’re headed, then, BAM! Slammed into the wall, or being tripped into the incoming crowd of students, or even “Fagot” “Go to hell” or “Ew, the lesbian”. Unfortunately, this is almost an everyday occurrence.

Eastview says that our school is a very open school to different cultures, sexuality and races. For some this may be true, but for a big majority of students they seem to over look that one should not discriminate another person. There are those who made read this who may think “Wow, this is a bunch of crap” or the guilty party may even deny what they do is even wrong, but it is wrong. If asked now what I think of the respect level at Eastview, I’d undoubtedly say that it is on a weaker side. The students and faculty of Eastview need to understand that we’re all here to learn, to mature in our teenage years. But how is it possible for a student to get a good education when repeatedly being harassed? High school is a time for learning and for making unforgettable, wonderful memories. Thought getting cursed at and tripped aren’t exactly the kind of memories I had in mind. Don’t you agree?