The decline of SHS culture

Two anti-bullying assemblies in a six-month period, people being singled out at rallies with offensive jokes and a disqualification from Homecoming because of inappropriate and offensive humor. Welcome to the new and not-so-improved SHS.

The start of the 2011-2012 school year hasn’t been the best, at least in the eyes of the administration. With behavioral issues becoming more and more of a concern, I can’t imagine that they’re very pleased.

For one, this year’s Homecoming week was rather memorable. But unfortunately people probably won’t be talking about the seniors’ great centerpiece or the football team’s victory. They’ll be poking fun at the sophomore class for worsening their already fragile reputation.

As part of the sophomore class, I will be the first to admit that we haven’t made the best impression as a group. Now, not only are the administrators hearing about our class’s poor conduct, but the teachers, parents, community and virtually anyone who is involved at school knows about all the issues we’ve caused.

The sophomores’ Homecoming episode hasn’t been the only problem with this year so far. The first rally of the year back in September didn’t go over so well. Many of the jokes were targeted at certain people and these individuals found the comments to be offensive—no surprise there.

Basically, what started out as a few incidents involving a relatively small number of people has now escalated to a school-wide issue. The concept of bullying is becoming far too familiar around campus for my taste.

Our school is unusual in the fact that our student population isn’t typical and we should be proud of that. The nerds don’t get their clothes stolen from their PE lockers—then almost all of us would be walking around naked. The band kids don’t find Play-Doh stuffed in their instruments—that would throw a third of the student body into chaos. And no one has to cry alone when they get a B; we have company to mourn with.

The idea of an intelligent, well-mannered and respectful student population is becoming more of a memory than reality. The obvious increase in bullying is beginning to tarnish our school’s culture as a whole. But what exactly can be done about this? Is it the school’s responsibility, or is it our own, as members of the student body, to do our part in rectifying the situation?

The administration has made an effort to improve the culture of our campus. There have been two assemblies, one near the end of last year and one at the start of this year, to raise awareness for bullying issues. The administration has brought in local psychotherapist John Peña and Assistant District Attorney Ray Mendoza to speak at these assemblies. Neither of these were taken very seriously though, at least judging from the sophomores’ jokes during their quad day.

But no matter how hard the school tries to suppress bullying, it is difficult for them to change the campus culture. Because many of the bullying issues on campus are spurred by online or off-campus conflicts, the school cannot monitor these situations at all times. Once we leave the classrooms, the tone and feel of our school is established solely by us, the students, and the amount of respect we pay to one another. We determine the school’s culture.

So do I hope these problems disappear? Of course. Do I think it’s an immediate fix? By no means. But it can and must be done by each and every class at our school if we have any hope in maintaining our quirky, unusual and somewhat eccentric culture here.

If not, I have a feeling that rallies and Homecoming celebrations won’t be the same anymore.