When you enter Troy High, the first thing you notice is that you can easily find people of similar cultures and backgrounds to become friends with. There’s a variety of people from different cultures you could get to know. According to the U.S. News, Troy High has a 52.3% minority enrollment, which is very high compared to the schools nearby. Athens High School, a neighboring Troy School District school, only has a 33% minority enrollment, having almost a 20% difference. Despite these statistics, almost 77.8% of the minority population is Asian. This percentage throws out a question for us to answer: why does this school simultaneously seem diverse but not?

Before we answer this question, we first need to ask two more, the first one being ‘Why does this school feel diverse?’ and the second one ‘Why does this school feel not so diverse?’. 

Sophomore Saamiya Shaik gives her perspective on diversity at Troy High School.

“I think it’s not [diverse]. I’ve met many different people from Asia from different countries,” she said, “There are lots of Asians and white people, but not many black people. Even though there are many different races and ethnicities in our school, one overpowers the other.”

However, there are other students who think otherwise. Sophomore Kara Son shares her opinion about the topic.

“I believe Troy High is very diverse,” she said, “Percentage-wise, it has a larger population of ethnic people, and compared to other schools I have been at, there’s a lot of different groups of people and culture.”

Though both Shaik and Son give contrasting answers, we can find one common idea: diversity in the Asian population. Though Troy High is 40.7% Asian, that doesn’t mean there’s no diversity within the community. 

Son agrees and talks more specifically about the variety of cultures in the school.

“I do believe our Asian population is very diverse,” she said, “we have a large mix of East Asians, Pacific Islanders, and South Asians.”

The variety of cultures within the Asian community shows that statistics do not define diversity. The similarity between the cultures can range from having the same roots to having nothing in common, yet they’re all grouped into one category. These ideas explain the feeling of diversity that people have experienced as Son has. But what about the people who have said their Troy High experience was not so diverse?

Shaik, who had stated earlier that Troy High is not diverse, says that the division of people of similar backgrounds may be the culprit. 

“People of similar backgrounds seem to stick together more,” She said, “You’re more familiar with your own culture and language.”

Being able to relate to your friends and people around you is important and creates connections between people. But does that have to be within people who share the same ethnic backgrounds?

These ideas help us to better identify the reason why Troy High feels diverse but also not at the same time. This school has people of many different backgrounds throughout, though a vast majority may be white or Asian. Many students tend to stay in groups of similar backgrounds, causing the school to be ethnically divided. But if we were to collectively mix between different groups of people, would this truly solve our solutions to become diverse?