A few weeks ago, I had an opportunity of going to a club called “Unite and Inform” after school. Now I never knew about this club until we had faced a disheartening incident where someone decided to write a hate speech on a bathroom stall. So I knew I needed to go to this club and hear what others thought about the incident and if they felt the same way as I did.  I felt disappointed because I would have thought in school full of students from different backgrounds, who have different skin colors. It would be impossible for someone to even think of writing the words they did. Especially after what happened last year I would have thought that everyone would have an open mind and be respectful to their peers. When I went to this meeting I didn’t know what to expect, and I’m glad I did because it made me go again. The leaders in the group have done a great job of helping students express themselves and teach everyone to be respectful to consider others feelings. Absolutely amazing. What a great thing it is to be in a room full of diversity, and not to feel that you will be judged because of your opinion.

Growing up as a minority, that’s how I always felt. Especially with the people I surrounded myself with, I thought if I spoke about the incidents I went through. Others would think it wasn’t a big deal or they wouldn’t care. As a Muslim as well, I always felt if I spoke out I would get judged or hated for what I believed in. Especially after a close friend of mine called me a terrorist, they tried to play it off like it was a joke. But I knew it wasn’t, after that moment I was angry and I kept my feelings inside me for so long that after the incident in the bathroom stall I couldn’t take it anymore. I needed to be in a room where people understood how I felt, and Unite and Inform has done a great job at that.  I highly recommend that every student in this school goes to their meeting on December 13 or any of them in the future. It truly is an amazing club.