Original Document:

RESPECT AND NO-HARASSMENT POLICY

Saint Ignatius College Prep works hard to create and maintain a safe and secure academic and social environment for all its students and to prevent situations that create offensive conditions. The school wishes to recognize and celebrate the diversity of our school community.

A major goal of Saint Ignatius College Prep is to teach and encourage students to become men and women who are aware of their own talents and blessings and who are willing to share them with others in open, loving and generous ways. Saint Ignatius recognizes its obligation to prepare its students to live, work and serve others in our increasingly diverse society.

Interactions among students and adults should, therefore, reflect acceptance of and sensitivity to the diversity within the school community. Affirming the richness of diversity in a community is not simply avoiding intolerance. Rather, it is a way of thinking, seeing, and behaving that demonstrates an understanding and respect for all ethnic and cultural traditions.

My version:

RESPECT AND NO-HARASSMENT POLICY

Saint Ignatius College Prep works hard to create and maintain a safe and secure academic and social environment for all its students and to prevent situations that create offensive conditions. The school wishes to recognize and celebrate the diversity of our school community.

A major goal of Saint Ignatius College Prep is to teach and encourage students to become men and women who are aware of their own talents and blessings and who are willing to share them with others in open, loving and generous ways. Saint Ignatius recognizes its obligation to prepare its students to live, work and serve others in our increasingly diverse society.

Interactions among students and adults should, therefore, reflect acceptance of and sensitivity to the diversity within the school community. Affirming the richness of diversity in a community is not simply avoiding intolerance. Rather, it is a way of thinking, seeing, and behaving that demonstrates an understanding and respect for all ethnic and cultural traditions.

Process Notes:

This is the official Respect and No-Harassment Policy in the student handbook from my high school. I didn’t add any words here–just simply crossed some of them out. This “policy” is extremely vague, so one part of my aim in crossing out words was to emphasize its vagueness in making a general claim about diversity. Also, I did cross out some of the words crucial to establishing what they were trying to get across, which as a result, makes this statement read a very different way. My choice to do this comes from a reflection of my own experience there, especially when crossing out “celebrate” as the school just barely recognized diversity, as well as “all ethnic and cultural” since the only tradition they seemed to understand and respect was the Catholic tradition.