Breaking Down Barriers

An issue that many Monroe students face is racial tension. Niccole says she’s called names in the hallway and sometimes gets made fun of because of her color. "If you really knew me, [you’d know] it's hard to live in Monroe because of the racism," Niccole says. "There's a lot of it...I have to deal with people either being scared of me or hating me for being the color I am. That's a lot to deal with."

Dorian, a senior, says no one has called him names to his face, but "people have segregated me and treated me differently because of my race." He thinks most of the school's racism is under the radar. "A lot of people act like they don't see it but, yes, [it's] there," he says. "You can get it just from walking into a classroom and the teacher sees your skin color and they don't expect you to get as good as grades as another student."