Cultural
On this page you’ll find less information to reference and more personal experience, which in some situations is even more useful. Each high school has a distinct culture, and there’s no way we could generalize and still be a useful resource to you. Instead, this page is going to focus on some of our experiences adjusting to a new culture, one that we were very unfamiliar and even uncomfortable with.
Though this section is written only by students of color, and it largely focuses on the culture shock and adjustment that we experienced transitioning to schools where we were suddenly the minority, we encourage all of you to read this. If it doesn’t help you prepare to be an outsider in a way you’ve never experienced before, maybe it’ll help you understand how hard it is for some of your peers to suddenly be in that situation. Some of us wrote about how we found communities that got us through, some of us wrote about how the assumptions affected us, some of us wrote about the ways we fought back. Like every other part of this website, this page is meant for all, and we truly believe that anyone who reads this will benefit in one way or another.
We want this page to represent students from all backgrounds. If you don’t see your culture represented here, and have a story you want to share, contact us and we will publish your voice and experience.
Photo of Beacon Sit-Ins by Jeremy Weine
Making Change
By Naia T.
In December, there was an incident at my school that sparked outrage among the entire school. A student got deferred from their top college choice, ran into the college office, and began screaming at the counselors, insisting that students of color and disabled students took her spots. Instead of reprimanding her in the moment, the college counselors laughed it off and gave her no punishment. It took a student to confide in another teacher of color for the smallest bit of action to get taken, and even then, nothing was really done. That incident was not isolated, as there have been countless examples of racism festering at my school even before I got here.
I, and a group of about 20 students, expressed our outrage and formed the “Beacon United Unions.” We were able to talk to over half of our school during a sit-in that was held to show that we have had enough and that things need to change for students to feel comfortable. During this sit-in, our school’s student unions held activities educating students on a multitude of things, and more than half the school participated. Ever since then, we have been working with our administration to get implicit bias training for students, staff, and teachers.
It was daunting having to talk to over 700 students at once. However, that work paid off because I know that the efforts I made will help make students of color feel more safe in school. The fact that so many people were so kind and continued to help in changing the culture of Beacon made me feel like I was doing something that mattered. While change takes a long time, being a part of changing the systems that are made to keep students of color back has been something that was extremely important to me in my high school career.
Culture Shock
By Marisol Fraguada
When I started going to my high school I wasn’t technically a high schooler yet— since Hunter goes from grades 7-12. Being 12, shy, and having barely just adjusted to my local middle school only to be thrown into a whole new environment did nothing to make me feel like less of an outsider. My background is Caribbean and South American. The kids I knew growing up were Punjabi, Trinidadian, Bengali, Filipino, Colombian, African American etc,. I thought I knew diversity. And then I started going to Hunter and became familiar with certain demographics I didn’t know much about. Until Hunter, I had no clue Queens was known for being an East Asian borough, or that white people were in fact, not the minority.
I started school not knowing anybody. Though it felt like everyone around me had at least one familiar face around from an old school, even if they weren’t friends. I was not outgoing at all, which just made me feel more isolated. That and being thrown into a mix of white and East Asian kids who I had very little in common with (going to different schools, different culture, different favorite pastimes) had me developing a whole race/ethnicity complex as I tried to categorize myself into one of these groups, and stick with it. I noticed that even the non East Asian POC kids, despite looking more like me, did not have similar experiences. Honestly, it took me a couple years to stop constantly pondering whether I was white or Asian or not, and just embrace the fact that high school is small; looking for someone I share a common background with is like pulling teeth. Finding some good friends helped me overcome pressure to fit in somewhere, because even if my friends can’t relate, they listen to me. Having someone to talk to is important, because that feeling of being different is often just as external as internal.
(Like when you have to complain about how the chemistry teacher treats the two Puerto Rican girls like the dumbest kids in class, despite one of them being raised by a biochemist. Or when the history teacher assumes you speak x language and asks you to read documents in said language in front of the class for #authenticity. Or when kids who are definitely not black drop the n word like it’s HOT and make fun of slurs/stereotypes with no regard. Or when the school decides to hire a psychologist, wants students to meet her before deciding she’s a right fit, and the group of kids meeting her is 90% racial minority students when those kids make up ~10% of the whole school population.)
Assumptions
By Ramatoulaye Bah
Coming to HSAS, a predominantly white Jewish school, definitely has its fair share of struggles. Add that to the fact that most of them have never met a black Muslim; you can definitely see that most of them already had their mind made up about me.
They often try to make me fulfill the role of being the “sassy black girl,” and expect me to be heavily aggressive and rude at all times. This leads to many of them finding me to be “too unapproachable” to even make conversation, so over the years it has definitely given me a feeling of alienation from the rest of my peers.
Also, apparently the only thing that someone like me is interested in is rap music? I mean this is somewhat true, however I listen to rap that sounds more like singing so it’s not entirely true. Either way, it hasn’t stopped random people in my school from coming to me for my opinions on certain rap artists as if they need some sort of certification from me about their music taste. Overall, these assumptions—and the fact that they aren’t very well hidden—just highlight the fact that I am different from most of the people in my school, in addition to showcasing how close minded some people can be if they didn’t grow up around diversity.
However, there are many ways to cope with these feelings of isolation and alienation. Personally I found that the best way was to make friends with other people of color. Though they obviously aren’t able to understand every aspect of what I’ve been going through in my years at HSAS, they are always supportive and make me feel accepted. Finding a dynamic group of friends who get it will make you feel a whole lot better and often you’ll find that you guys can just laugh about it because you’ll realize that most of the people in school mean no harm at all. But you know what they say, ignorance is bliss. This also means that a lot of the time all you need to do is educate your peers. Sometimes a simple conversation is all that is needed to clear the air and have them see the effect that their assumptions have on you and your overall high school experience. Remember: there are a lot of nice people out there and they’re usually open to at least hear you out and try to understand your position.
Coping
By Naia T.
Coming from a predominately black school in Harlem, the transition to Beacon High School was not easy. Though I had four friends who accompanied me to Beacon, being in a school where the majority was nothing like I’m used to was difficult because my entire life, I was surrounded by people who are similar to me. I knew of horror stories the first month I was there: students in my grade casually using the n word, upperclassmen doing blackface without any repercussions, and even a student peeing on a Black History Show poster. Trying to get accustomed to a space where you don’t feel welcomed takes getting used to, but there are ways to find a community where you feel safe.
I found refuge in my school’s Black Student Union. Well, for one thing, my “big sib” (a senior who helps in advisory) was the leader and pushed me to go. However, being there with a community of people who remind me of home made me feel like I wasn’t alone. I was able to be a part of my school’s Black History Show for three years, doing step with some of my friends. We even formed our school’s very first step team, which was another example of finding a community where I felt safe. There are so many different student unions that represent a variety of identities at Beacon. Even though I am not a part of some of them, I like attending because not only do I get to learn from my peers, but I also get to find new and amazing people who I might have not met before. If you were like me, going into a school that has people who look nothing like you, joining clubs that reflect what you are used to helps so much.