A Year Without Diversity

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Nothing seems unusual compared to every other school year at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School (OHCHS) but there's more than meets the eye. This year there is a change in the student body that is not going unnoticed by members at OHCHS; a lack in foreign exchange students.

Oxford Hills has a strong history of hosting as many as five foreign exchange students in their community every school year. So far this year the community has only welcomed two teenagers, one from Chile and one from Turkey.

This change was noticed by many members of the faculty at the high school, including French teacher and host-mother to many, Mrs. Andrea Asken-Dunn. Mrs. Asken-Dunn has been involved with student foreign exchange programs at OHCHS for seven years and has hosted students for five. This the first year she has not hosted a student. This is her first year without a child of her own at home. She felt she had some adjusting to do. When asked why she thought other host families chose not to host this year, she said there might be "a lot of economic stress." Mrs. Asken-Dunn feels this affects the school. "Students are less aware of the world around them. It's good for students to become aware before they leave high school."

Faculty members are not the only ones to notice the change; students have as well. Senior Kurt Kilgore says, "I feel that the lack of foreign exchange students in this school does not allow me, or other students attending OHCHS, to broaden their horizons. Nor does it allow other cultures to assimilate."

Whatever the cause may be for the lack of diversity in the OHCHS student body this year, one thing is for certain: it has affected everybody.