I recently discovered something called the Leonard Law, which protects my First Amendment right to free speech in California, even at private high schools. I lost the election and have nothing left to lose, other than disciplinary sanctions, which are prohibited for normal exercises of free speech under the Leonard Law. So here we go.
As you may already know, the DEI committee made an active attempt to rename the Lunar New Year holiday. While it’s still debatable whether the name change was warranted, it is objectively true that the majority of East Asian students were never consulted.
After a meaningful dialogue with a former member of the Stevenson School DEI committee, I’d like to share the following information:
- The name change was discussed with several members of the AAPI affinity group and the DEI committee.
- The DEI committee conducted a reflection on the name change after the incident.
- Most DEI committee members agree that the name change led to unexpected backlash and that the consequences were largely negative.
As the year comes to a close, I want to raise this topic once again, hopefully for the last time, to articulate that we never received an apology for the name change.
My argument against the name change is clear: “Asian New Year” does not exist. No one in Asia wakes up and celebrates “Asian New Year.” It has always been Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year, or other regional variations. Most Asian students felt deeply offended by this act, yet the school never formally addressed that sentiment. Meaningful consultation was hardly conducted. I am still baffled as to why the average Asian Stevenson student was not consulted. Must I be in DEI, StuCo, or AAPI to have a say in how my culture is recognized? Or am I simply not Asian enough by Stevenson standards to decide how my own culture should be named?
I genuinely hope this never happens again. But for what it’s worth, this incident will forever stand at Stevenson as a classic, time-honored example of American DEI dark humor.
I want to remind us how dystopian this incident truly was. Even now, the school’s lack of response to the widespread sentiment has never been formally addressed. Personally, I find it reasonable to face consequences and take accountability when I mess up, but that’s just me.