“We come from every walk of life, community and creed./Our strength is our diversity; others follow where we lead.” Sound familiar? It should; these are lyrics to BVNW’s alma mater. Despite being the official anthem, we as Huskies have not taken passion, purpose or pride in that message.

For example, our hallways are still plagued with harmful words designed to hurt others who are considered “different.” Beyond the comments made, our diversity assembly is the lowest attended assembly, and the only one advertised as optional. 

We emphasize applying our school message of passion, purpose and pride into menial everyday tasks such as cleaning up after ourselves and showing up at school; however, we lack this approach when it comes to celebrating diversity.

We must realize the entire blame is not solely on our community; BVNW is a microcosm of the world around us. Across the country, diversity is being hunted and erased, revised and changed and underappreciated and limited. Look at the treatment of immigrants, the watered-down history lessons, political violence and the exclusion of diversity, equity and inclusion. This is not setting us up for success.

Surrounding yourself with people who are of the same race, gender, sexuality, religion or political affiliation leaves Jane and John Does in an echo chamber. If everyone has the same perspectives and experiences, then nothing can be improved because repeated ideas will lead us nowhere.

Furthermore, the exclusion of other people and ideas encourages feelings of resentment and, therefore, polarization between groups who do not agree. America is an especially privileged place to live, with our founding documents listing our rights of freedom of expression, speech and religion. In no scenario is it acceptable to respond to a disagreement with violence. At the end of the day, we are all people.

While the events in the world might make you feel helpless or angry, we can all try to improve, right here at school. According to an article by the American Psychological Association, including diversity in classrooms and lessons on it will improve students’ critical thinking skills and desire to help others in their community. By increasing our problem-solving skills and building on empathy, we can start to facilitate change and understanding.

At Northwest, we have every opportunity to lead actions of passion, purpose and pride in showing appreciation for the people who contribute to BVNW’s diverse environment.

We say diversity is our strength, so let us build on that ability. Immerse yourself with people who are different from you. Show up and support the people who make the diversity assemblies happen. Recognize and appreciate not only what you bring to the table, but what others do too. It is time we start taking our alma mater to heart and take action for our special community.