SAN JOSE, CALIF. –– At Silver Creek, surveys are being taken by students about our campus life and environment. Surveys that we seniors have taken all four years, or should I say three, truthfully do not have a big impact on our campus and its students, even so, does the school really do anything to improve on it? 

Even with great messages and motivations from our teachers and other staff, nothing ever really changes on campus. There still seems to be a group saying derogatory terms that they cannot say, or a friend group excluding somebody from the group for being “different”. 

Of course, the process is hard enough with having students on campus being prejudiced against other students. You can’t completely change how students speak to one another and you can’t really change what they think is right. However, there could be ways to strongly implement lessons and resources into our education system. It’s frustrating when feedback seems to fall on deaf ears, especially when it concerns something as vital as our campus life at Silver Creek. It can lead to a sense of disillusionment among students who want to see their concerns taken seriously and addressed effectively. It’s essential for schools to not only gather feedback but also demonstrate a commitment to acting upon it in significant ways.

I personally believe that this lesson did not and will not do much to change the way the students act. I think that the school did an absolutely great job putting students together and having them teach other students about their struggles and experiences with racism. It was a very powerful message, but I wish there was more done by the school to have students reflect on it more deeply.  

Angela Ramos, senior, says “While I think it was a very courageous and thoughtful lesson, I  think a lot of our students, sadly, lack the empathy to really care to make a difference.” As a reply to my question, How exactly can we attempt to make a difference? She says, “ Because it’s usually certain cliques that use the language mentioned in the video, the real change would begin within those cliques; someone makes the effort to address the negative impact of their behavior and slowly the group catches on, and changes their habits.”

By empowering influential members of these groups to champion empathy and positive behavior, we can harness the power of social dynamics to drive meaningful change across the student body.