• A couple years ago, my high school's Japanese classes and club was hit with the news that they were cancelling our program. The principal came to our classes looking at us as if we would attack him at any given moment. None of us wanted to lose our class and club. Japanese, to us, was a place where it didn't matter if you were popular or not. You could be yourself and enjoy yourself and everybody made you feel welcome. So, what did we do about our problem? We fought. Our club officers didn't want to risk getting in trouble, but we still worked towards getting our program back. We got people to sign petitions and did rallies, but we only were able to keep the classes that were already in progress till they ended. Sure, we were happy to have our classes back, but we were still a little sad that the program would eventually end. The next year, it was evident that the school officials looked at us like outcasts. They left us out of the club pictures around the school, leaving us with a small, plastic geisha toy as representation. They rented our room out to another class; this class ended up thinking that they own the room and covered the boards with all their stuff, leaving us no space to actually use the board. This year has not been any better. School has only just started, and the school has already made us feel more like outcasts by giving our teacher a key that doesn't work, making us move rooms, and making us feel like we're not even a club anymore. This is our last year and last class. Let us make it a year to remember. Make us feel welcome instead of unwanted.