Discrimination is a very common element in high schools.

Oprah Winfrey’s show, “The High School Challenge,” revealed the bitter truth of what has become a habit in a teenager’s life: discrimination. It was an experiment on high school students in Chicago, where they had to open up and tell about how much they’ve been hurt by their fellow classmates. They’ve been addressed several times about their color, sexuality, size, style, and fianncial situation…the pain those kids went trough was overwhelming.

Do all high schools have the same problem? Personally, I think Uni does. The “funny” jokes students throw at each other in the hallways,classrooms--jokes about race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and so on, shouldn’t be tolerated at all. Some naive people could say that racism doesn’t exist, or it is not as explicit, but it is.

Haven’t you ever noticed that students of the same race tend to hang out at the same spot? Of course, there is always an exception here and there.

The new movie with Hilary Swank, “Freedom Writers,” is a story about a teacher in Long Beach who changes the attitudes of her students about discrimination and racism.

People like Erin Gruwell, the teacher in the movie played by Swank, do make a difference in the world, contrary to popular belief. Teachers at Uni could make a more positive influence on students’ awareness. Right now, teachers don’t encourage discrimination, but apparently find themselves to be too insignificant to stop it. This isn’t because they don’t care, but rather because some don’t feel any responsibility or willingness to change from the students.

Is there something that can be done to stop this intolerance? Perhaps there is no real solution.

Or perhaps the nicer world everyone wants to live in should be shaped in our high schools.

High schools should increase awareness (advisory periods could be useful during this time). Students should stop spreading the “harmless” jokes, because oftentimes they end up being vicious and hurtful.