Every single day, over 1,650 students crowd the Fallon campus. Sadly, one of the first things they hear in the morning is racial slurs being shouted across the hallway. Monkey, curry muncher, and the n-word are some of the terrible slurs that people call ‘jokes’.
Over the past few years, Fallon has experienced an increase in the number of racial slurs and racial jokes being said around school. While there are many different ways racism can be expressed, as listed in the white supremacist pyramid shown, the majority of the problem arises in slurs, often said in a “joking” way. Many students have been personally affected, with most of them having changed perspectives on Fallon compared to what they had believed at the beginning of the school year or before middle school.
One-seventh grader, Viraj Jaursa, expressed this clearly, saying, “I honestly don’t think this school is as good anymore, with the sheer amount of racism. I feel like not every kid feels welcome.” He didn’t hesitate to say yes when asked if it was a major problem.
In a survey sent to Fallon students, 71.7% said they had seen or experienced racism. Considering the student body’s size, that’s roughly 1,150 students. With such a diverse community, it’s not surprising that there could be divisions in opinions.
Simply walking around campus, one may hear one or more students freely spewing slurs such as “ching chong,” “bombers,” and the n-word that were based on their ethnicity. With the problem escalating and requiring two academic days off for assemblies, what else can possibly be done? Many people have described the assemblies as making students slightly more conscious for a few days at max, but it serves as a superficial solution.
The racism isn’t just limited to verbal- it’s been seen online as well, commonly on a social media platform called Discord. What makes students get away with racism so easily is the fact that it’s harder to catch them when they can conceal their identity. Snapchat, for example, automatically deletes chats, without a necessary change in user preferences. On Discord, you can change your email address, delete your messages, or simply delete your account. With the increasing popularity associated with being rude or using hate speech, it’s become tempting to many. Students tend to use the “Oh, I was just joking,” excuse or laugh it off.
According to the US Justice Department, the number of hate crimes against people because of their race increases every year, substantially increasing after COVID-19. When students were told about having another day for racism awareness on January 29th, there were visible groans. They said it was “pointless,” as after all, Fallon is a middle school, and there are bound to be rude things said and done. That’s exactly why we have these SEL training days. To prove that we can break a precedent, that even in middle school, students can be kinder, we need to commit to doing better. Together, we can make an effort to change, because every single bit counts.
