by the editors in Immigration, Schools and Youth
Posted on February 27, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Last Modified on March 8, 2009 at 3:18 pm
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The following writings were submitted today by students in a media class at Somerville High School.
Students at a Disadvantage by BrAus
What would you say if you couldn’t go to college because you had to pay double the amount of money as anyone else?
How about having to freeze in the winter while embarking a long “journey” to school because you aren’t allowed to drive, even if your the proper age for it? How about the jobs so many teens have that teach you responsibility, that you are also denied of? Oh, and this is the best part, how about having to wear a mask amidst your friends for fear that they will find out you’re an illegal teenager?
You see, I have gone through such a situation and still am. To be a student teen living in the US illegally is something that so many people don’t understand. They say we are trouble makers, they say we steal jobs from American citizens, they say we’re leaching off of the economy. Funny how all my life, I have learned in school that we shouldn’t stereotype a group of people by the actions of few, yet it seems that many make an exception of this in regards to immigrants. For 12 years I have lived in the U.S. and I have grown to love this country as much as those who have been born in it. My family and I pay all our taxes, we are obedient to the laws of the land, and accomplish our civil duties yet we are still so oppressed in this country just because of some simple papers.
I currently go to Somerville High and am an honors student, with an average of an A. I plan to go to college, yet I can’t because my family cannot afford to pay double what others are. I can’t get a job, can’t get my permit to drive to school, and have to keep my legal status hidden from my friends for fear of what might happen.
I am writing this blog not to start an argument over whether or not we immigrants are beneficial to this great country or not, but to stir sympathy for immigrants in similar situations as myself. To awaken those who can speak for us in the senate, and in the white house. To make everyone realize that the majority of us are not “money leeching, job stealing” punks, but people who came here with the same dream for our families and a better opportunity for this generation!
That’s the point of view of a teen immigrant, I just hope that you can live this life that I am living and feel the limitations I feel.
You tell me to aim for the stars, but there is a simple green card that separates me from that…
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The Diverse High School by thekid
Somerville High School is a diverse place that is in many ways seperated. In the high school many people have friends that aren’t of the same race or hold the same beliefs but most of the time people will stick with groups that are similar to them. I myself hang around with kids that share common interest with me, and I have many friends of many different ethnicities. In the high school it is not uncommon for kids to have friends of all races but most of the time kids will sit with other kids who are like them in either race or beliefs. If you walk into the cafeteria at lunch, you would see some of the diversity, spanish kids sitting with white kids, white kids sitting with black kids, and black kids sitting with spanish kids. But most of the time people of the same race and language usually stay together. For a high school that is said to be so diverse, we are seperated by so many factors.
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diversity of life by aakash
People live in different places and live with different people. Diversity is very important. It makes people aware of how people from other race, another country are and can help a lot in changing of what we call the stereotype. Different people have different ways of thinking about minority. as a personal experience, i think that the place where someone lives in affects that person severely. I used to live in NY where people from all over the world live. i did not have any problems mixing up with the people around there because they were aware of who we were and from where we came from. there was no division of people anywhere, whether it was my school or outside. i hung out with every race and it gave me a chance to learn about there way of living.
well, that was not the same when i went to virginia. Being a rural area where you did not even have a cab, there was very little diversity, well there was no diversity at all. people stared at me like they had never seen a brown guy before. even in the school, the division was very serious. there was the cheerleaders, jocks, nerds, geeks, punks, goths and i was surprised. they never hung out with other groups.
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Diversity in Somerville by Haley
My friend, who lives in Londonderry NH, was telling me a little about her school, and I was telling her about Somerville High. We found out that these two schools are VERY different. Somerville is very diverse, many blacks, brazilians, italians, portuguese, irish, etc. Londonderry is not diverse like Somerville. I told her that many believe that the whites in Somerville are the minorites, that there are a lot more brazilians, blacks and hispanics. In Londonderry NH, she says there are only 10 black kids in her whole school, and there are 4,000 + kids that go there. Her band that consists of over 300 students only includes 1 black student. When she comes down to visit, she goes into a culture shock because she is not used to seeing the houses so close together and many blacks, hispanics, and brazilians. She would like to see how it would be to go to a school with different races and not just whites and only 10 blacks. She says that it would be good to see more races in her school because she would like to know what it was like to be friends with different races rather than just whites. I told her that the people here pretty much keep to themselves. We have the jocks, the cheerleaders, the goths, the punks, the brazilians, the blacks, etc. they sit at their own tables and rarely converse with other “groups” or races. I have friends who are in my social group and many friends who are different races. I think people are scared to go out of their social group. They think that their friends will make fun of them for who their friends with, who they date, or who they just talk to. What friends think should go to an extent. Along the lines of “Does this dress look okay on me?” or “Oh, so and so broke up with me. What should I do?” If your “friends” make fun of you for who you hang out with or date, they really aren’t your friends. I think kids should go outside their social circle and see what it’s like to be friends with a black person, a brazilian, a goth, jocks, cheerleaders, etc.
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Groups in High school by iaritza
Every high school student is different. Most of the time, there are groups that separate everybody from getting along. For example, they could separate by race, what they are known for, or by how they act or look. In Somerville high school there are groups, like the cheerleaders, brazilians, nerds, jocks, hispanics, or the goths. Sometimes it could cause problems. It causes problems because some kids might think they are better than others and a lot of fights could go on. Another problem is stereotyping. One might say, “oh she/he is smart, therefore she/he is a nerd”. But its not always like that because there could be a really smart girl and she might be a popular cheerleader. Because of the confusion between groups there could be trouble and a lot of drama.
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Diversity in Somerville High by AB1334
It is no question that Somerville High is filled with people from all walks of life and that is one of the things that makes this school so unique. Being a student at Somerville High I see every day the social and ethnic blend that we have in the school and it is one of the things I enjoy most about the school. Although many people may think that with so many different groups in the high school that kids will gravitate into their own smaller cliques; however that is not what i observe when i walk into school everyday. I personally have friends from all different groups and friends from all different cultures and see different people interacting with each other all the time. This is one of the great advantages of going to an urban school such as the SHS rather than a suburban school where I feel the seperation between different groups is much stronger.
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High School groups by tk80mb
There are several groups of people that are formed at Somerville High School. Occasionally, people from these groups intertwine with other groups. When this happens, it can either catch the majority of the school’s attention and can cause a bit of a stir. Most of these groups are formed and joined by people depending on the students’ choice. Teachers, parents, and other things in the school environment can influence a student to become a jock, goth, cheerleader, or nerd. This, in fact, probably plays the biggest role in choosing a social group to be associated with. Groups can cause conflict, and not just in school settings. Groups in the everyday world are created in the same sense and can cause conflict as well. Feel free to post opinions on this topic.
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Diversity in Somerville High by Jeff Wairi
At the Somerville High School there are all different types of groups. There are the jocks, there are the nerds, and there are the goths. I think that although we have all types of groups they are all accepting of new people. For instance; I could sit at lunch with the jocks that play football, then once I finish eating, I could go over and sit with my friends from my algebra class. It’s not how movies depict the High School life. I think all schools are pretty much the same. I have friends from other towns and they all say that they are in the same position as I am, where they can hang out with whoever they want. I assume that in some states and even in a place like Massachusetts, there can be some places not as accepting as Somerville High. But, I am glad that Somerville High is like this and that I can sit with all my different types of friends.
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Somerville High Groups by JasonCorey
There are many groups in Somerville High, including jocks, goths, gays, nerds, brazilians, and many more. Each of these groups have their own style and interaction. These groups are diverse and different in a lot of ways. Sometimes there are people that can fit in more then one of these groups. There can be gay jocks, nerdy brazilians, and goth nerds.
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High School social division doesnt really go on much by vanredgrave13
The way i see it is that people hang out with their friends and half the time their friends happen to be in the same group but most friends are very diverse like the I see goth kids hanging out with nerds and jocks hanging out with the health careers people. It’s not very usual to see social division in my high school at least.
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Groups at Somerville High School by somervilleboy617
In Somerville High School and pretty much every other school, friends usually hang out with someone else who are in their same group. There are cheerleaders, jocks, nerds, Brazilians, Haitians, goths, etc. For example, pretty much all my friends and best friends are athletes. Either our sport is baseball, football, track, or basketball, we share the same interests in sports and have something to relate to. One of my best friends is a Varsity football player and track runner and I am a Varsity baseball player. We love to talk sports and play sports and the reason why people hang out with people in their own groups is because they share same interests and really connect with each other.
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somerville high friends by Marina92
We know that we wouldn’t be able to get through high school with out our amazing and supporting friends. They are always there for us though everything. It could be a test that we need help on problems with boys or other friends. They mean the world and so much more to us.
Marina & Jessyka<3
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school vs. life- life lost, a poem by ratzabc
a life lost is a life gained…
and a life gained is a life lost!
you see you can’t beet it, it controlls you
you dont controll it!
live it learn it love it and endure the pain!
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BrAus, thank you so much for upping my awareness about what you are going through. that’s a great piece you wrote, and I really hope that our new administration, with Prez. Obama, will enact good changes that will make it absolutely positive that you can go to college. Would you be willing to post some advice for the white house and senate?
i also enjoyed the voices around diversity alot!
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Thanks to all of you for posting these comments and insights! tk80mb – I think we should send you to the UN and ratzabc how about becoming Poet Laureate? These are all great and just what everyone needs to listen to. Are all of you together somehow?
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These posts are fascinating!
BrAus, I think it will be a tragedy if you can’t go to college because you can’t get “in-state” tuition.
The idea of in-state tuition is that the state subsidizes the state colleges using residents’ tax money, so residents should get lower tuition than people from other states, whose residents don’t help pay for Massachusetts state colleges.
But your family does pay Massachusetts taxes and help make college affordable for our residents! So you should benefit like every other resident.
I hope that law will be changed. It makes no sense and it just hurts the state by keeping talented and hard-working students from getting the education they need to help build the Massachusetts economy.
Thanks for posting this on Somerville Voices. I hope you will also send it to the Journal and Globe letters pages.
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to “the kid,”
It may be natural for people to feel most comfortable with other people who are like them, but we all lose a lot when we don’t mix. One of the best things about living in Somerville is that you can meet all sorts of people–just shoveling your sidewalk! You learn a lot by getting to know people who are different. And one thing you learn is that they may not be as different as you thought.
What does SHS do to encourage its many different kinds of students to get to know each other?
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Aakash,
I once lived in New York, too. I wouldn’t say there was no division of people when I was there, but it seemed to be part of the identity of the city that it was made up of all different types. Nobody felt that their kind of people were the only “real” New Yorkers. Which I loved, maybe because I was a French immigrant and there weren’t too many people there like me. I don’t think I ever met another French immigrant, but I felt as much at home as anybody.
How do you feel about SHS? Is it closer to the New York attitude or to what you saw in Virginia?
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Haley,
I’m really sorry to hear that. Some of your classmates explain why they like to hang out mostly with people like them—people with whom they feel a lot in common. I’m not going to criticize that. I do think it’s human nature, although I also think it’s worth the investment to get close to people who aren’t like you. But nobody should be put down for having friends who are different.
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Iaritza,
I think you’re right that the idea, “My group is better than other groups,” is what causes problems, more than just feeling different. Just feeling different may make you want to get to know someone. Feeling that your group is better – that’s what leads to fights. Is there any way to fix that? Does each group inevitably feel superior? It’s easy to be a starry-eyed idealist about this, but are people always going to be this way?
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AB1334,
That’s great! You, Jeff Wairi, and “vanredgrave13” all wrote that people of different groups at SHS know each other and get along well. But some other people did not. Why do you think that is?
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tk80mb,
I think most people who read this blog are very interested in what happens at our high school. Can you say more about what happens when groups mix? What kinds of problems does it cause? Are there situations in which groups mix well?
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Jeff,
I’m really glad to read that in your experience, people from different groups DO hang out together and enjoy each other’s company!
From reading the other posts, it seems that not everybody has that experience.
What do you think it takes to get to know and like people who are from different groups?
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vanredgrave13,
I’m glad to read that people do hang out with other students who are different from them. Jeff Wairi and “AB1334” have a similar view, but some of the other people in the class feel groups are pretty much separated at SHS.
Why do you think some people feel separated and other people don’t?
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Somervilleboy617,
You explain very clearly why people like to stick with people who have a lot in common with them. Are you thinking that’s okay and doesn’t need to be changed?
Can that happen without causing tensions and arguments among the groups?
Is that true of SHS?
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Marina and Jessyka,
You wrote about why friends are so important. I certainly couldn’t get by without help from my friends!
Here’s a question: Is it easier to be friends and to talk about personal things with someone else who is basically like you?
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ratzabc,
To be honest, I don’t really understand your poem, but I think I can feel it, especially the last three lines. I hope you’ll write more.
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Jason,
You made a very important point: we all belong to more than one group. We have more than one identity.
That’s yet another reason why it’s good for people to accept–and not just accept but appreciate–people who are different.
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I am pleased and impressed by the many contributors here who are bearing witness to the benefits of living and studying with people from diverse cultures, speaking diverse languages, and proud in their diverse appearances. I am also pleased by how far we have come as a community.
A year or two before our SHS correspondents were born, racial tensions reached a boiling point, closing down the high school for a few days. Now, those posting here are describe how they are enriched by our differences.
Somerville students have a distinct advantage over those in the New Hampshire and Virginia schools that Haley and aakash report on. The daily interactions that AB1334, Jeff, Jason and Vanredgrave describe prepare people to work effectively with the diverse society that they will enter and affect when they graduate.
There is a deeper way that these interactions benefit us as well. When we grow up in a family and a community that has only one culture, we learn to see the world in only one way. We take that view things for granted and don’t realize that the world is much more complex. We are less creative and less capable of understanding and resolving conflicts between groups.
When we have close friends from different cultures and with different life experiences, we have the privilege of seeing the world through their eyes. We realize that the world is richer and more complex than one sees on television or in popular-culture media. We are changed a little bit and can never go back to the single simplistic way that we saw things before. We are stronger in resisting the influence of politicians whose views are bounded by their own limited experience.
As tk80mb states and iaritza hints at, whenever people are together, conflict is inevitable, and it is more likely when people from different groups interact. But those very conflicts can produce creative solutions that benefit everyone. This happens when parties to the conflict look at it through each other’s eyes and commit to finding a solution that respects each other’s experience.
I would encourage everyone to try to form a real and deep friendship from someone that is not like you. The beginning of such a relationship may be the kind of shared interests that somervilleboy617 points to. It may be reaching out to someone when things get hard, as Marina92 talks about. Or it may be the process of resolving the very conflicts that initial kept us apart. For any reason, it is worth the effort.
If young people make that effort, they will be less likely to embrace the hypocrisy of those who reap the economic benefits that the immigrants produce through the work that they perform, while reviling and punishing those same immigrants. BrAus’s account of this hypocrisy’s consequences is accurate and compelling.
The invaluable diversity that our correspondents describe here makes Somerville special. But there are forces now at work that can undermine it. Somerville housing is becoming more and more expensive, while there are few jobs in the city that can pay a living wage. Many people who once lived here have been forced to move to other communities.
Our city’s political leaders appear to be indifferent to these changes. Maybe they really do care. But either way, they are doing little to ensure that housing is available for people of all incomes, and they are doing even less to bring jobs that can support families. If young people educate themselves about solutions to these problems, speak out, and become a political force to be reckoned with, they can make the difference that we all need.
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Hey everyone,
Thanks for all the comments, me and my classmates were happy to see them. After reading my post again I realized that I failed to mention an important aspect of my status here and I just wanted to clarify this. My illegal status is not due to me nor my parents “crossing the border” illegaly, but rather due to the expiration of our visas. We came here legally and unfortunately the visas expired. Hence my illegal status. At the time I was young, so I did not have any opportunity to obtain even a social security number…
Just wanted to clarify that
Once again thanks to all the readers!
Sincerely,
BrAus
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Hello BrAus
I enjoyed your story. I am a youth organizer and we are planning a information meeting tomorrow, March 20, about this issue. I hope you can come…
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Hi Maria, can you please provide more details about tomorrow’s meeting?
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yes, the meeting is from 5 to 6:30 pm our organization is The Welcome Project and it is located at 530 Mystic Ave Somerville, MA you can invite other youth too…other students from SHS are also coming…you can also e-mail me at maria@welcomeproject. org This is our first meeting and it would be an honor to have you there.
Maria L.
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BrAus,
Your post can help people understand how the “in state tuition” issue feels to a young person hoping to become a successful and contributing adult in Massachusetts.
You should be proud and happy to know that our school committee voted unanimously two years ago to support legislation making it possible for all Massachusetts residents to be treated equally in paying tuition at state colleges and universities. At least nine other states have laws like this, including states with large immigrant populations like Texas and California.
One reason residents of Massachusetts pay lower tuition than students from out-of-state is that their families pay taxes to help (inadequately) support the schools. On that count, you’re as much a resident as your classmates.
The other reason we offer lower tuition to residents is because we need an educated workforce, and we think resident students are more likely to stay and be productive. You have an A average and would probably be very successful in college and work. Massachusetts has been losing workers; with an aging population, we need all the skilled workers we can get. And our universities say they could educate the small number of students in your situation without increasing costs, so they’d actually gain more revenue if more academically qualified students could afford to attend.
I hope that this discrimination against undocumented students, which only started in 2001, will end soon.
Best wishes, Pat Jehlen
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school vs. life- life lost, a poem by ratzabc
a life lost is a life gained…
and a life gained is a life lost!
this doesnt make sense, honestly. circular logic much?
you see you can’t beet it, it controlls you
beet as in the vegetable? this doesnt make sense. also controlls? really?
you dont controll it!
what are you even talking about?
live it learn it love it and endure the pain!
care to explain “ratzabc”?
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