In late January, a picture and video were released on social media showing DGN students writing racial slurs. One of the incidents was made very public over Twitter. Following this event was an announcement made by Principal Schwarze explaining that the N-word should never be used because of its discriminatory roots.

That word for me was one I was told to never say by my parents at a young age. I, of course, heard the word spoken said at my elementary school, my junior high school, and continuously I hear it in the halls at DGN. But just because you hear the word being said, it in no way makes it okay to say it yourself.

After conducting interviews for our In-Depth section, I heard stories from people that have been directly affected by racist behavior. As much as I would like to believe racism no longer exists, that belief is just as ignorant as those who are inherently racist. Listening to those who are directly affected by these situations confirmed why this In-Depth needed to focus on these issues. We can’t shy away from stories that are sensitive, because the victims’ voices still need to be heard.

We decided to focus the main story not on the incidents themselves, but how the school community has been responding to them.

Featured is a poem written by Anaya Rowe that she read to those that attended the read-in. This piece can help put into perspective that although we’re all part of the same community, we aren’t given the same courtesies.