(December 20, 2002) — No matter how much we try to “come together” to fight racism, there will always be some sort of separation among students of different races. Fortunately, racism isn’t such a huge issue at Clark. Most students at Clark are more concerned about academics (as well as getting away with breaking dress code and catching the bus) rather than worrying too much about who “belongs” where. Clark does a good job of making students think about their future and what really matters in life. With this in mind, students at Clark do not have time to be racist. Students of other high schools who may not be challenged enough become bored, and as a result, spend their time putting others down. If students have a PowerPoint presentation or a humanities essay to worry about, however, racial segregation is not one of their priorities. Students exhibitng racism are simply immature and insecure. Racism and immaturity almost always come hand in hand, with a third member of the family, ignorance, interlocked between the fingers of the two hands. If a person is mature, he or she has better things to do than to discriminate against someone of another racial identity. Racism is pointless. Nothing positive would result and a mature person would not want negative consequences to ensue from his or her actions. If students are mature enough to come to Clark on their own free will, they are also mature enough to blend in with Clark’s diverse atmosphere. Insecurity is another member of the racist clan. The only reason people would put others down is because they are insecure about themselves, and making the victim feel inferior lets them forget about their own imperfections for a slight moment. Again, a student doing well at Clark has nothing to be insecure about. Therefore, there is no reason to be racist or timid enough to seem racist. Since the main intent of school is to learn, petty differences in race should not matter to students. The time spent criticizing one another based on race or culture could be replaced with time spent being productive. Since the only consequences and results of racism are negative, most Clark students interact well with one another regardless of racial identity or preference. Those not able to do so, however, should put aside their stubbornness, ignorance and immaturity and realize that racism does not belong at Clark. Most would agree that the fundamental focus of high school is to prepare us for the “real” world. Although racism and segregation do exist in the “real” world, are we not the generation of change? If we are able to communicate through devices that were once completely unheard of during previous generations, why aren’t teens today able to come together in this melting pot of cultural and racial diversity? Sadly enough, students of many other high schools are more concerned with belonging to their little closed-minded cliques than they are with abolishing the ugly lines of racism plaguing society today. Racist students of other high schools should look to Clark as a model school. Clark’s harmonious atmosphere sets a great example of how students should act and treat one another.