The room is filled with exuberant laughter, playful banter, and an uplifting spirit. The vibe is unmistakable, one of cheerfulness and love, one where all are welcome.

This utopia is the Tolerance Club- a place where anyone and everyone can join and be accepted.

“I felt as if there was no social acceptance club on campus that embraced everyone. That’s why I helped found the Tolerance Club,” said Jacqueline Barsamian, one of the club’s leaders.

“Tolerance by definition is potentially negative since it implies that we ‘put up’ with each other, but the goal of our club is to let people know that they have friends who love and care for them. We’re trying the create a place where people can be themselves and know that they are perfect and wonderful the way God made them, regardless of religion, race, background, or anything else,” said Ms. Katie Wilson, the club’s moderator.

An average Tolerance Club meeting is an assemblage of people chatting, eating, and making new friends. The club might hold discussions as well- currently, they are planning a public service announcement against bullying.

According to Ms. Wilson, many club members feel that bullying is a scourge on our campus that must be stopped. “Bullying is an ever-present problem that can really scar someone; now, we even have websites such as Facebook and Twitter which make the problem permanent. The Tolerance Club has started a long-term campaign which will hopefully lessen these incidents both on and off the school campus,” she said.

Bullying has proved to be a major problem- last year in San Diego alone, over 800 kids were victims.  According to the New York Times, 1 in 5 children have been victims of bullying, and over 88% of teens have witnessed people being cruel on social networking sites. The Tolerance Club has an ultimate goal of eliminating bullying at CCHS, spreading our school’s mission to build people of character who advocate the Christian way.

Cathedral is not the only high school in Southern California to have a social acceptance club, though ours is of a different nature than many other schools. Other high schools have clubs dedicated to accepting all sexual orientations, such as The Bishop School’s ‘BAGLS Club’ (Bishops Alliance for Gays-Lesbians-Straights), and Notre Dame’s ‘Club SNDwich’, a diversity awareness club that “shows no discrimination”. In comparison, the CCHS Tolerance Club is just a place for everyone to come and be accepted.

“I believe in a world with a message of love where everyone is accepted for who they are. The Tolerance Club is just a place where we can share this message with each other, and help spread it all over campus,” said Brad Stiehl, the other Tolerance Club leader. Brad said that the club also has future plans to visit the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles.

Chase Hauser, a Tolerance Club member, said, “My favorite part of the club is that it’s basically just a bunch of great people from the CCHS student body getting together, caring for each other, and really listening.”

The Tolerance Club meets every Thursday during lunch in the drama room.

Ms. Wilson also says that she enjoys seeing the interactions made between people in the club. “It’s great watching our fifty or so members just gathering and talking; I love seeing the new friendships being formed between people who are kind and peacemakers. I’m enamored by the ideas of those who want peace in the world, and it’s awesome to see their thoughts expressed during meetings.”