Olympic High School’s large student population might not conjure up pictures of students of all races, backgrounds and social strata holding hands in harmony, yet according to sophomore Jordan Ferraro, junior Ardie Fasuluai and senior Grace Campochiaro it’s not far from it.

“I feel comfortable coming up to any student and hanging out with them,” Campochiaro said, adding that even though there are different groups of students, there aren’t any clearly drawn lines between the groups. “We are a family.”

“Everyone gets along and we’re all Trojans,” Ferraro said, echoing the senior’s assessment of the unity that exists throughout Olympic High School.

When asked to define diversity, Fasuluai said, “Diversity for me has to do with different groups, people with different backgrounds and beliefs.”

Ferraro agreed with Fasuluai that diversity goes beyond the common distinctions of race and religion and is about what makes each individual unique.

“If you took a group of Sicilian people, which I am, they’re not all the same,” Campochiaro said. “I think it’s individuality.”

By and large, most expressions and types of diversity are accepted throughout OHS, but Ferraro noted that “sexual orientation is one that not everyone is going to take lightly.”

As a football player, Fasuluai said he has noticed there is more acceptance of different students at OHS than Central Kitsap High School.

“It’s cool because the kids with less money hang out with the kids who are richer,” Ferraro added. “It’s one of things that we don’t really notice.”

Through-out Black History Month, which concludes tomorrow, all three students said they have seen an emphasis placed on the contributions of African-Americans throughout the month and each school day has started with Ferraro providing a Black History Month fact over the intercom as part of the morning announcements.

“It was Ms. (Roxanne) Thayer’s idea, and I see it as an honor to be asked to do it,” he said. Thayer is one of the school’s vice principals, who is a strong diversity advocate.

When President Barack Obama was sworn into office, the majority of the students at OHS had no trouble being able to watch the event, but Fasuluai said it took him and a few other students some effort to convince their teacher to allow them to view it.

“The teacher said we had a bunch of snow days that we had to make up and we had a lot of work to do, so we couldn’t see, but once a lot of us starting asking to see it, she finally let us,” he said.

Along with Obama’s inauguration, a nationwide conversation about race issues and relations has surfaced, and although all three students represent distinct racial and ethnic backgrounds, they all agreed race has never been an issue for them.

“When I was younger I noticed color, but it was never a big deal for me,” Campochiaro said, adding that for her parents, on the other hand, race was an issue.

Her mother, who is Filipino, grew up being told that if she were going to marry a white man, he needed to be a doctor or a lawyer, Campochiaro explained.

“My father is neither, so it’s different for the older generation,” she said.

Fasuluai, who is Samoan, said he has never paid attention to skin color, and Ferraro said, “I’ve always just seen people.”

When asked how each of them see their role in continuing to improve the acceptance of diversity in the future, all three agreed they want to have a positive impact.

“I want people who come in contact with me to feel accepted and I want to leave a legacy of someone who was always accepting of others,” Campochiaro said.

Fasuluai said he may not do anything big in terms of diversity, but he, too, wants to leave a legacy of accepting people for who they are and helping others.

“I’d like to leave a similar legacy behind, a person who accepted everyone,” Ferraro said.