Letter from the Editors: 2018-19, Issue 3
by Dylan Carlson Sirvent and Sophie Yang, ’19
Upper Arlington: 88 percent white, 6 percent Asian, 2 percent Hispanic, 1 percent Black, 3 percent “other.” In a country whose population is expected to become “majority-minority” by 2045 according to a United States census projection, the halls we walk through are not necessarily representative of the emerging plurality of races and ethnicities of our country.
Upper Arlington is not known for its racial diversity, yet that does not give us permission to remain ignorant. Rather, it is crucial that we study other cultures and backgrounds. Read. Be curious. Even learn a new language. If you meet someone at the high school of a different race, ethnicity, religion, political orientation or sexual or gender identity than you, do not hesitate to ask questions as long as they are respectful. Even if you don’t agree with what they have to say, don’t shut yourself off. Set aside your preconceptions and listen—actually listen.
This issue encourages you to challenge your beliefs—to look at the people around you in a new light, no matter who they are or what they believe. In “Not All Book-Smart, Never One-Dimensional,” writers Hallie Underwood, Josie Stewart and Maya Mattan explore the experiences—social, cultural, and stereotypical—that surround Upper Arlington’s Asian-American students, our community’s largest minority group, in the wake of a recent lawsuit challenging Harvard University’s race-based admissions policy. In our new segment, “Perspectives,” the students who walk beside us share their own experiences with stereotyping and whether it should be further addressed at the high school.
Columnist Maya Mattan explains her dilemma on whether or not to wear a hijab. Copy editor Sammy Bonasso encourages us to remember the past when we struggle in the present. Op/ed editor Hallie Underwood profiles a student Trump supporter who has faced bullying simply for a hat he loves to wear. As you flip through these pages, keep an open mind. Discuss these issues, as uncomfortable as they may be, because only then can we begin to step away from our preconceptions and toward this pluralistic world that awaits us in the not-too-distant future.
— Co-Editors in Chief