Three weeks ago, Shanghai American School’s official YouTube channel uploaded a video titled “Diversity at SAS” that portrays SAS students of various races explaining their American backgrounds in response to a common question of visitors and parents—“Where are all the Americans?”
Almost immediately after the video was available, high school students responded with concerns about its accuracy in portraying the racial diversity present in SAS. The most extensive conversation spawned from an alumnus' FaceBook post, which asked: “Why is Shanghai American School so white supremacist?”
After a classmate commented on how “white people can be racist in other countries too” and claimed that “80% of my teachers who asked us not to speak Chinese because we go to an American school?? It’s not about numbers it's about power????,” responses from her peers and teachers accumulated to a total of 41 comments. Overall, opinions ranged from disagreement towards the languages that should be spoken in class to agreement on the idea that SAS has always been trying to “downplay the large Asian student population.”
The author of the original post eventually elaborated on his/her attitude toward the video, commenting, “One of the first things said in the video was “Where are all the Americans?” That’s implying that being Asian and being American are mutually exclusive, that somehow there’s a correct way to being ‘American’.”
In response, the video’s director and editor, senior Aaron Hwang, has taken responsibility but also expressed his skepticism toward the element of “white supremacy” some claim the video represents.
“The question becomes whether the intentions of the interpretations are valued highly,” said Hwang. “I only have choice over my intentions and how clearly I express these intentions, not how I can cater to everyone’s interpretations of the video.”
Senior Nicole Chen, who was approached by Hwang to be the cinematographer of the video, has slightly different opinions.
According to Chen, she agreed to collaborate before seeing a first draft of the script that was created by Hwang and the school’s Marketing and Communications department, which outlined a video of Caucasian students elaborating on their American background in Chinese*.
“A stereotype is that some people come to campus, look around, and draw conclusions about our students – in particular, that ‘only Asians go to SAS,’” said Mr. Kevin Lynch, Director of Marketing & Communications and the one who approached Hwang with the assignment. “The fact is, our students are a collage of cultures, backgrounds, and influences and can’t be so easily categorized. To make that point in an impactful way, our idea was to create what we believed would be a surprising juxtaposition—students speaking a language you wouldn’t expect. We thought students with Caucasian backgrounds speaking Mandarin would be the most surprising.
“While that might not seem surprising to people who live internationally, keep in mind that this is a marketing campaign, and that approximately 50% of families who join SAS each year come from outside Shanghai,” he added.
But Chen said that she and Hwang felt slightly underrepresented as Asian students, and the two settled on the final draft with the department, which featured more Asian Americans. “It’s important to note that Aaron and Nicole both worked very hard to broaden the diversity of students featured in the video,” Mr. Lynch acknowledged.
However, according to Chen, the department made changes to Chen and Hwang’s rough cut. The number of Asian students was cut down until only two remained.
Chen conceded that she realized the message of the video did not align with her own views, but she let it happen.
“SAS is—or at least rumors are that—taking this school in a different direction,” she said. “And as someone who has been at this school for thirteen years, I can say that the reality is that most of our students do have good grades and do go to Ivy League schools, but the communications department wants it to be less competitive, less intimidating… they want to take away so many characteristics of this school that are associated with ‘Asianess’.
“But the prestige SAS has is also contributed by students like me, who aren’t American, who don’t hold American passports,” said Chen. “Yet we still embody this sense of passion and drive that makes SAS what it is.”
In response to the common criticism that the video does not accurately reflect the diversity of students at SAS, Mr. Lynch agrees, but he points out that “accurate representation of the student body was not the objective” despite the video’s title of “Diversity at SAS”.
“It was the wrong name, and it set up expectations that were unintended and obviously unfulfilled.” admitted Mr. Lynch. “A name that captured the message to ‘not judge a book by its cover’ would’ve set up much more realistic expectations and delivered the message more clearly.”
Mr. Lynch has also shared his sympathy toward students who participated in the project and received criticism. “The ultimate responsibility lies with our department, and myself personally,” he said.
For Chen, the backlash she and Hwang have received has led to a process of self-reflection. “My biggest takeaways from this whole controversy is that, first, why did I let it happen?” she said. “When I was watching the edits, why didn’t I do something to stop it—or at least speak up?”
Chen recalled that during one day of the shooting, she had to film a clip of a Caucasian elementary school student saying, “Oh, here goes another Asian”, which follows the phrase “You wouldn’t hear my accent and think—” in the video itself. After shooting the scene repeatedly, she was gradually struck with a sense of discomfort until the phrase rang in her head as an insult.
Chen said that her second revelation was the need to keep the conversation going. After the video received backlash, both Hwang and Chen reached out to Mr. Lynch to schedule a talk about these concerns. The three have had a conference with members of the department that was “sort of like a therapy session,” according to Chen. A second meeting was scheduled to continue the discussion, but that has been continuously delayed.
The creators of the video did not want to elevate Caucasian students so that other races seem inferior, and, no, its message is not that Americans are superior to other cultures. The word “American” is embedded in the title of the school itself, and there’s nothing wrong with demonstrating the presence of American students in an American school.
However, many students, like junior Victor Vogelslang, were attracted to the school’s description of being an “international community.” This was a promise that he and many others say SAS has not met.
“The administration has chosen not to define what the identity of this school is in order not to alienate any potential customers,” said Vogelslang. “My reminder to the administration is that the people who come to the school aren’t customers, but students.”
There’s nothing compelling about seeing another Asian in an Asian country—that is the truth.
But the majority of the student population is Asian—that is also truth. Shanghai American School is not any less diverse than if the ratio of Asian students to students of other races were reversed, if Asian students stood as a minority. This is diversity not referred to as “ethnicity, or in the shallowest of terms,” Mr. Lynch said.
When the communications department tries to repackage SAS into something it’s not, to falsely represent what we are as a whole with a selective few, we are inadvertently demeaning the school’s own worth. Ethnicity and the languages we can speak play no part in giving Shanghai American School students their reputation of being unique and irreplaceable.
The evidence: our wide array of ambitions, talents, beliefs, activities, and experiences.
“The fact that diversity extends beyond race and skin color I believe is perfectly representative of SAS,” said Hwang, “and this is something that I feel we accurately portrayed in the video.” However, the video only shows senior Michelle Mao beatboxing and senior Lachlan Pinney playing the pipa.
Although the assets of a few individual students are captured, no matter the intention, the focus of the advertisement still remains on diverse appearances and ethnicity under the umbrella of “American.” Students expressed that they prefer to showcase diversity in interests and talents rather than in race. What about the fact that our student body masters instruments ranging from the pipa to the saxophone to digital mixers? Our athletes thrive in Junior Varsity and Varsity teams from 14 different sports. The Puxi campus alone has 76 student-run clubs.
We have a student-produced and performed dance showcase that will have its tenth edition this year. The IB Art show was immediately followed by the Spring Art Show. Last Thursday, the Council of Remembrance hosted its first annual “Survivors” series, in which students interviewed figures who have experienced traumatic events
The list goes on.
Angela Ma
*NOTE: This article has been edited since its first publication. The previous version stated that the original script for the video was handed down to Chen and Hwang from the Marketing and Communications Department. The article now clarifies that Hwang has also contributed to the creation of the original script. Additionally, names of previously quoted individuals have been retracted.
 |
| A screencap from the video, via Youtube |
Almost immediately after the video was available, high school students responded with concerns about its accuracy in portraying the racial diversity present in SAS. The most extensive conversation spawned from an alumnus' FaceBook post, which asked: “Why is Shanghai American School so white supremacist?”
After a classmate commented on how “white people can be racist in other countries too” and claimed that “80% of my teachers who asked us not to speak Chinese because we go to an American school?? It’s not about numbers it's about power????,” responses from her peers and teachers accumulated to a total of 41 comments. Overall, opinions ranged from disagreement towards the languages that should be spoken in class to agreement on the idea that SAS has always been trying to “downplay the large Asian student population.”
The author of the original post eventually elaborated on his/her attitude toward the video, commenting, “One of the first things said in the video was “Where are all the Americans?” That’s implying that being Asian and being American are mutually exclusive, that somehow there’s a correct way to being ‘American’.”
 |
| Part of the Facebook chain that originated from the alumnus' Facebook post |
In response, the video’s director and editor, senior Aaron Hwang, has taken responsibility but also expressed his skepticism toward the element of “white supremacy” some claim the video represents.
“The question becomes whether the intentions of the interpretations are valued highly,” said Hwang. “I only have choice over my intentions and how clearly I express these intentions, not how I can cater to everyone’s interpretations of the video.”
Senior Nicole Chen, who was approached by Hwang to be the cinematographer of the video, has slightly different opinions.
According to Chen, she agreed to collaborate before seeing a first draft of the script that was created by Hwang and the school’s Marketing and Communications department, which outlined a video of Caucasian students elaborating on their American background in Chinese*.
“A stereotype is that some people come to campus, look around, and draw conclusions about our students – in particular, that ‘only Asians go to SAS,’” said Mr. Kevin Lynch, Director of Marketing & Communications and the one who approached Hwang with the assignment. “The fact is, our students are a collage of cultures, backgrounds, and influences and can’t be so easily categorized. To make that point in an impactful way, our idea was to create what we believed would be a surprising juxtaposition—students speaking a language you wouldn’t expect. We thought students with Caucasian backgrounds speaking Mandarin would be the most surprising.
“While that might not seem surprising to people who live internationally, keep in mind that this is a marketing campaign, and that approximately 50% of families who join SAS each year come from outside Shanghai,” he added.
But Chen said that she and Hwang felt slightly underrepresented as Asian students, and the two settled on the final draft with the department, which featured more Asian Americans. “It’s important to note that Aaron and Nicole both worked very hard to broaden the diversity of students featured in the video,” Mr. Lynch acknowledged.
However, according to Chen, the department made changes to Chen and Hwang’s rough cut. The number of Asian students was cut down until only two remained.
Chen conceded that she realized the message of the video did not align with her own views, but she let it happen.
“SAS is—or at least rumors are that—taking this school in a different direction,” she said. “And as someone who has been at this school for thirteen years, I can say that the reality is that most of our students do have good grades and do go to Ivy League schools, but the communications department wants it to be less competitive, less intimidating… they want to take away so many characteristics of this school that are associated with ‘Asianess’.
“But the prestige SAS has is also contributed by students like me, who aren’t American, who don’t hold American passports,” said Chen. “Yet we still embody this sense of passion and drive that makes SAS what it is.”
In response to the common criticism that the video does not accurately reflect the diversity of students at SAS, Mr. Lynch agrees, but he points out that “accurate representation of the student body was not the objective” despite the video’s title of “Diversity at SAS”.
“It was the wrong name, and it set up expectations that were unintended and obviously unfulfilled.” admitted Mr. Lynch. “A name that captured the message to ‘not judge a book by its cover’ would’ve set up much more realistic expectations and delivered the message more clearly.”
Mr. Lynch has also shared his sympathy toward students who participated in the project and received criticism. “The ultimate responsibility lies with our department, and myself personally,” he said.
For Chen, the backlash she and Hwang have received has led to a process of self-reflection. “My biggest takeaways from this whole controversy is that, first, why did I let it happen?” she said. “When I was watching the edits, why didn’t I do something to stop it—or at least speak up?”
Chen recalled that during one day of the shooting, she had to film a clip of a Caucasian elementary school student saying, “Oh, here goes another Asian”, which follows the phrase “You wouldn’t hear my accent and think—” in the video itself. After shooting the scene repeatedly, she was gradually struck with a sense of discomfort until the phrase rang in her head as an insult.
Chen said that her second revelation was the need to keep the conversation going. After the video received backlash, both Hwang and Chen reached out to Mr. Lynch to schedule a talk about these concerns. The three have had a conference with members of the department that was “sort of like a therapy session,” according to Chen. A second meeting was scheduled to continue the discussion, but that has been continuously delayed.
The creators of the video did not want to elevate Caucasian students so that other races seem inferior, and, no, its message is not that Americans are superior to other cultures. The word “American” is embedded in the title of the school itself, and there’s nothing wrong with demonstrating the presence of American students in an American school.
However, many students, like junior Victor Vogelslang, were attracted to the school’s description of being an “international community.” This was a promise that he and many others say SAS has not met.
“The administration has chosen not to define what the identity of this school is in order not to alienate any potential customers,” said Vogelslang. “My reminder to the administration is that the people who come to the school aren’t customers, but students.”
There’s nothing compelling about seeing another Asian in an Asian country—that is the truth.
But the majority of the student population is Asian—that is also truth. Shanghai American School is not any less diverse than if the ratio of Asian students to students of other races were reversed, if Asian students stood as a minority. This is diversity not referred to as “ethnicity, or in the shallowest of terms,” Mr. Lynch said.
 |
| The "Diversity at SAS" video has accumulated 12 likes and 8 dislikes in 3 weeks, via YouTube |
When the communications department tries to repackage SAS into something it’s not, to falsely represent what we are as a whole with a selective few, we are inadvertently demeaning the school’s own worth. Ethnicity and the languages we can speak play no part in giving Shanghai American School students their reputation of being unique and irreplaceable.
The evidence: our wide array of ambitions, talents, beliefs, activities, and experiences.
“The fact that diversity extends beyond race and skin color I believe is perfectly representative of SAS,” said Hwang, “and this is something that I feel we accurately portrayed in the video.” However, the video only shows senior Michelle Mao beatboxing and senior Lachlan Pinney playing the pipa.
Although the assets of a few individual students are captured, no matter the intention, the focus of the advertisement still remains on diverse appearances and ethnicity under the umbrella of “American.” Students expressed that they prefer to showcase diversity in interests and talents rather than in race. What about the fact that our student body masters instruments ranging from the pipa to the saxophone to digital mixers? Our athletes thrive in Junior Varsity and Varsity teams from 14 different sports. The Puxi campus alone has 76 student-run clubs.
We have a student-produced and performed dance showcase that will have its tenth edition this year. The IB Art show was immediately followed by the Spring Art Show. Last Thursday, the Council of Remembrance hosted its first annual “Survivors” series, in which students interviewed figures who have experienced traumatic events
The list goes on.
Angela Ma
*NOTE: This article has been edited since its first publication. The previous version stated that the original script for the video was handed down to Chen and Hwang from the Marketing and Communications Department. The article now clarifies that Hwang has also contributed to the creation of the original script. Additionally, names of previously quoted individuals have been retracted.
