SHS is now filled with all kinds of students and teachers. SHS is a great example of the diverse community that surrounds us instead of being a school that is considered, “looking like America” according to principal Barbara Brower. SHS has caucasian, African American, Mexican, Hispanic, Burmese, Chin, Arabian students and many more.

Over the course of ten years, SHS has changed a great deal in the ethnicity area according to the Indiana Department of Education. Referring to the graph to the side, you can see how the different ethnicities have changed over the course of the decade. Burmese students have made a huge impact on SHS as the demographics of the area have changed and grown into what it is today. Looking into the cafeteria at lunchtime is an ideal way to see how mixed friend groups are. Many Burmese students sit all together, There are tables where it is solely made up of only caucasian, or african american. There are also tables however that has many different ethnicities that sit together.

“My friends help me out,” Freshman So Mue said.

Mue has a group of friends so he doesn’t need to admits that he too mainly stays with his own ethnicity rather than reaching out to another. Mue sits with the same friends at lunch as he does in his classes, the same group of friends. Mue doesn’t participate in any afterschool activities so that leaves him with the same people all the time, which means it is harder to meet more people who aren’t exactly like him.

Senior Ivy Dugar is involved in the dance team and she says that there are all different races and ethnicities who participate. The same thing is said for running, not one specific ethnicity, but all of them mixed together. However, Dugar has noticed that some of the groups within the activities don’t really mix.

“I don’t really know, we share the same interests,” Dugar said.

Dugar has no problem having friends or talking to people of other ethnicities, but thinks she hangs around her own ethnicity group more than others.

Brower has noticed the change in the sizes of the different ethnicities in the high school over the past decade.

“I love that we are diverse. I love that kids are involved here,” Brower said.

Many Burmese (or Chin) students are in different language or science classes that students with better english are in, but are in other classes that don’t need high level english such as gym or math. Within the classes that the Burmese students are in with other races, the teachers try to mix the students up to work with different people. Different  students aren’t being forced into after school activities but are definitely encouraged.