It is reiterated so often that Boise High’s culture doesn’t fit in the norm of public high schools. A lack of traditional cliques and a diverse student body makes BHS seems like a safe haven. Acceptance of all ethnicities, sexual orientations, gender identities, and religions is something Boise prides itself in.

Boise High’s Gay-Straight alliance is devoted to making our school a place where LGBTQ youth feel accepted and the unify club is another example of Boise High student’s commitment to acceptance of diversity.

The club aims to desegregate special education students from the general education population through a peer mentorship program. Unify members agree that the friendships and memories they have made through the program will have a lasting impact on all of the students involved. “I think that the unify club has provided a great opportunity for different students in all grades to have something in common and lose their differences, no matter what they are, and come together to build friendships.” says Charis Hadden, a sophomore and peer mentor for the Unify club.  

The emphasis on tolerance at Boise High is strong, but there seems to be a forgotten demographic at BHS that lacks the same level acceptance that so many are granted. Students with a more right wing agenda are drowned out and often criticized for their beliefs, in the same place that preaches acceptance for all. “The half-hearted attempts made by teachers and staff to explain or include more conservative ideals into the curriculum are typically done with a patronizing tone, thus further reinforcing Boise High’s far left echo-chamber,” adds sophomore, Kate Roe.

Boise High School is leaps and bounds ahead of many high schools when it comes to tolerance and being accepting towards all those in its student body, but that doesn’t mean that nothing more can be done. Boise High has the capacity to stand as an example of what all high schools could be, a place that harvests diversity and utilizes the strength that comes with that. The bases of acceptance, understanding, and concern for others is embedded in Boise HIgh culture and expansion of those ideals will allow tolerance to extend over the entirety of the student body.