I personally don’t think Bothell High is a racist school; in fact, I think this school is pretty diverse and hospitable. I have experienced racial comments here at Bothell High, but nothing else other than that. I am a proud African-American girl, and I truly believe Bothell is always getting closer to becoming a more welcoming school but there is always room for improvement. I grew up in the South for almost all my life, so it was a big change coming up here to Washington. It was strange at first, but I adapted. I am a junior so I will be out next year. I was in my third period class, and I was sitting next to a guy (not going to say his name for privacy reasons), he started joking about how Asians have last names you can’t pronounce and how Black people are so-called “monkeys.” I tried to laugh it off with the girl I was with. She was Asian as well. We both were truly uncomfortable. I didn’t want to say anything, but I also didn’t want to feel as though I was weak or soft, but at the end I did not speak up for myself. I begin to look back on this event every now and then and I have come to the conclusion that most racist jokes people tell are just ignorant. I hope to never have to hear this again.

-Anonymous student (20)