Discrimination against other races has been a problem for centuries. As the years keep going by, every person of a different culture has slowly been working to accept one another with an end goal of having every man and woman being treated equally.

“I think that I’ve experienced some racist comments but rarely am I scared of other people. I’m black and my friends don’t care. The school doesn’t care. Nowadays, most people [at North] don’t think about your skin color,” senior Jalen Bell said.

North administrators have done what they can to keep the cultural diversity in a positive light. According to the Illinois 2016-2017 North report card, the ethnic distribution of North is 14, 7.6 and 7 percent of Hispanic, Asian, and African American students respectively. It is pushed to make sure that not one student is singled out for his or her race. 71 percent of students claim they have not experienced prejudice inside of North.

“I’m a firm believer that our students look to include others. No student should feel alone because everyone has somewhere to fit in. If we push diversity, everyone becomes better and everyone wins,” assistant principal Darnell Weathersby said.

Although the administration does what it can to prevent racism, seven out of seven African American students said they have experienced racist remarks from other students in the school.

“All the time I hear people saying ‘cotton-picker,'” freshman Kaylin Smith said.

Whether jokes from naïve students are intended to be racist, North students still find them offensive. According to a survey of fifty-nine students, 22 percent experience more racism at North than anywhere else. 44 percent responded finding it equally pervasive throughout society.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say [racism is] present. It’s more along the lines of prejudice. But that’s everywhere. It exists, so what can you do?” junior Sydney Swanson said. “Our school isn’t racist, but there are some here, for lack of a better word, ignorant.”

Plainfield School District has always strived to show that they do not single out people of any differing color. According to the student handbook, “District 202 does not discriminate on the basis of gender, religion, handicap, race, color, national origin, or disability; nor does it permit sexual harassment in its educational programs, activities, or employment policies.”

“I like to think our school is well-grounded. Any sign of discrimination against a student would not be tolerated,” dean Brad Shinovich said.

Teens who do not realize that there are consequences to racist remarks would be upset to know that deans will take disciplinary actions in this case. Verbal consequences against another race will send a student to the Refocus program, where he/she would have an in-school suspension and meet with social workers, counselors and deans. Any physical abuse that is backed by racial motivation will result in immediate expulsion.

“When you’re in this office, you wait until [a student] is brought to us,” dean Sean Carlson said. “If [he or she] has committed a racial issue, we would bring that student in. Deans would come together to focus on it.”

The district has done its best to keep its students safe and make sure everybody is comfortable.

“The goal is to always get better. We’re in a good place, but we’re always looking for more opportunities to be more accepting,” Weathersby said.