A dark colored carbonated drink is enclosed in a five inch tall aluminum can, a tomato red can with a silver ribbon up the side. By people opening the can, listening to the carbonation fizz and taking a sip of this refreshing soda, the brand is looking to make a difference.

In the Middle East, the company Coca-Cola has started a new campaign for Ramadan. Instead of the brand name being printed across the label, the new slogan, ¨Labels are for cans, not people,¨ has taken its place. By doing this, Coca-Cola is promoting a world without labels and prejudice. A few students agree that this could travel overseas and make a difference here at SHS.

Senior Hailey Quinn believes that SHS could do something similar by just being nice to one another. She believes that people should just influence one another to be nice and to not label each other.

¨I try to keep positive people in my life and I try to influence negative people to not be so negative,¨ Quinn said. ¨It’s just baby steps. Baby steps over time can be something big.¨

Sophomore Noah Brunson says that there is a good deal of labeling going on at SHS.  

¨I feel there is a great deal (of labeling) that does occur,¨  Brunson said, ¨because plenty of people do end up labeling people or themselves to feel better, or fit into their own social class or a group instead of risking being seen in a negative light or to be considered a social outcast.¨

According to Indianadoe.com, SHS has a variety of ethnicities. For instance, of 2,102 people, only 99 of these people are multiracial. Between some of these different ethnicities are what could be considered barriers.

Brunson believes that a good part of labeling comes from the variety of ethnicities that have settled here.

¨I do feel that a good part of labeling comes from the variety of ethnicities we have at Southport,¨ Brunson said. ¨We all have access to the news and internet and when an event happens that involves a certain ethnicity it leads to the entire ethnicity being labeled and in some cases that labeling can be positive or negative.¨

Quinn agrees that the the variety of ethnicities has quite a bit to do with labeling because she believes that many people stick with their own clique which can can create barriers between different ethnicities.   

According to Coca-Cola, it takes just seven seconds to form a prejudiced opinion about someone. In that seven seconds the opinion formed is most likely going to be based solemnly upon that person’s appearance.

Brunson says that seconds upon first meeting someone, an opinion is formed right away.

¨I feel I let everyone prove to me that they are what they say they are before I make my own decisions,” Brunson said. ¨But at the same time, we all have our thoughts on someone from the very moment we meet them.¨  

Quinn says something very similar to this. She agrees that upon first meeting someone an opinion is formed rather quickly. She says that it depends on the two people interacting and whether or not they are open or not, but she tends to figure the person out quickly.

Quinn believes strongly in the saying ¨never judge a book by its cover.¨  She thinks that if a person is allowed to express themselves before they are judged it can completely change an opinion about that person.

¨If we let people express themselves before we judge them we might have a totally different opinion about them,¨ Quinn said. ¨Never judge a book by its cover is a true statement in my opinion.¨

Brunson sees it differently though. He believes that people are human and from the moment one meets another human labels are made.

¨At the end of the day we are all human,¨ Brunson said. ¨from the moment we meet a fellow human we have labels and preconception.¨