Senior year is a time when students of a graduating class come and become more united than before. There are senior breakfast, the Bulldog bash, and other school-sponsored activities that promote such unity. While many seniors enjoy the events, their effects have not carried over into actual everyday life.
Traditionally, senior lockers were always on the social studies hallway, but because of growing class sizes, the lockers had to be expanded to include the science hall.
This decision, made in order to address the problem of a growing student population, may have in fact created another problem of racial division.
It doesn’t take a long time walking down the science hallway to realize its difference from the social studies hallway. The senior hallway, located in the science hall, is predominantly black, and while many would like to categorize this as the “most likely to have a fight hallway” or the “hoodlums,” those assumptions are ludicrous.
According to a survey, many have chosen to reside in the science hall because that is where all their friends chose their lockers. And while the seniors acknowledge the lack of racial diversity, they do not see it as a problem.
But something the science hallway residents do see as a problem is all the jokes made by seniors from the opposite hall.
“I’ve heard they call our hallway the No Child Left Behind Hallway,” said one disgruntled senior.
The seniors in the history hallway disagree, saying, “I have no idea who came up with that name; I don’t see why anyone would say that about our classmate.”
Seniors in the social studies hallway have other reasons as to why they chose their lockers.
“The history hall has always been the true senior hallway,” said Whitley Heyward.
“Homecoming decorations are always done on this hall, and that’s part of my reason why I chose to put my locker on this one.”
I don’t see much of a difference on this hallway compared to past years,” says history teacher Steve Rubino. “But I don’t get outside of this hallway much either.”
“They call this hallway the “white” hallway, but hey, I’m back,” said Courtney Jones-Stevens.
The diversity on the social studies hall is apparent. Every race that Chamblee attends is represented on this hallway. So why the obvious division?
“I think we just divide ourselves by who we hang out with,” said Amanda Lewis. “Because Chamblee is a Magnet school, a good majority of the students are bussed from all over DeKalb County.”
Visually it may seem that the class of 2006 is divided by race. Taking a step back, however, and looking closer at the relationships, friendships, and interactions between the students from both hallways it is seen that the division remains mostly in the hallways.
“Even though you may hang out with different types of people at school when you are outside of school it is easiest to hang out with friends that live closest to you,” replied one senior according to a survey taken.
For one senior, however, it is easy, “I just didn’t want a bottom locket, and the only top one that was open was on the other hallway.”
