At the Heart of the Issue

Although most of the buzz regarding the situation, which is now
referred to on campus as “The Executive
Controversy” has quieted down, the issues
that it raised remain prominent on campus.
When a group of people feel threatened, it is expected that retaliation will occur. However, when two groups of students each represent a specific group, race in this case, the issue gains more power over the student body. I believe that the reason this controversy rapidly caught the attention of school officials and students is the threat that it posed to AHS. For a brief couple of days, we were brought back to a time when discrimination was tolerated by
society–when people were segregated based upon factors that were as insignificant as race. As a student who is neither a part of Executive nor a candidate in the elections, I feel that school officials did not do their job. As supervisors of AHS, it is their responsibility to address the
entire student body regarding the
issues that concern them. Perhaps it was a poor attempt at trying to lessen the attention on the controversy, but it was interpreted by many as a passive dismissal of the situation. I believe that the situation was handled
irresponsibly by students as well. Immediately, several students turned to social networking sites, such as Facebook and Tumblr, to point fingers and to defend their position. As high school students, there are more mature ways to handle disagreements and voice opinions.
When issues in society involve race, the question, “How much progress have we really made since the days of discrimination?” is immediately brought up. This situation showed us, as a school, how far we still have to go
until race is no longer considered a valid point of argument. As a student who will soon leave AHS, I remain hopeful that in the years to come, the students and officials on
campus will handle future situations with more sensitivity and responsibility.

By Features Editor Lindsay Croon