Our school is such a diverse community. Our students, faculty and staff come from different cultures, religions, backgrounds, and hold different beliefs. This makes our school rich with global perspectives, which is part of our school mission. But news in the media and entertainment can greatly impact the way students perceive things due to negative stereotypes that are made. Our school does a great job of defying stereotypes, and we should not let news in the media affect ASL by fostering a more stereotypical mindset.
This year, massive differences between the two candidates for the US presidential election have caused intense media coverage. Statements against Muslims and Hispanics, mocking people with disabilities, and disrespect towards women are just a few of the controversial comments presidential candidate Donald Trump has made. Instead of celebrating the differences of our world, Trump chooses to use the differences to create fear amongst citizens, so they support his candidacy. These comments create biased opinions towards people who are different from them. The New York Times released videos that had coverage of Trump supporters who were at a rally, shouting terrible and rude comments about people who were not like themselves. These rallies bring out the worst in individuals. They shout vulgar and extremely ignorant judgements at people who are different from them instead seeing the beauty of diversity in them.
The definition of respect at ASL is, “We treat others the way we expect to be treated. We value diversity of thought and experience.” The last sentence represents how much our school values being respectful of everyone’s beliefs, and how important it is to see the beauty in our differences. We should continue to do so, and not let stereotypical comments ruin how we perceive each other.
