The Academy’s Sugarcoat
By Jane Park
The Academy wants everyone to “say yes to Exeter,” and so the four weeks leading up to the acceptance deadline is spent making Exeter appear as satisfactory as possible. The way society operates is all about the exterior appearance: the facade instead of the internal appearance. But does this defective precept that has been instilled into everyone seriously apply to whether or not one “says yes to Exeter?”
The Academy is eager to look “diverse,” yet the number of Black @ Exeter posts steadily increases by the day. The Academy is eager to foster an anti-racist community, yet victims of racism continue to speak up anoynmously on social media. The Academy is eager to show they denounce sexual misconduct, even as anonymous reports from sexual assault survivors trickle in by the day. The Academy is eager to look as though they foster inclusivity, yet inter-dorm relationships are banned. It’s not condemnation if the only Academy emails sent to the school body are due to coercion by apprehensive students. It’s not denouncement if sexual assault cases continue to increase. It’s not “fixing a mistake” if there is nothing that’s been changed. We continue to let the Academy get away with hypocrisy. Students should not be the ones to call administration out. Yet, we must, for no one else will.
In November of last year, we celebrated Diwali with traditional Indian cuisine and decorations. It was only last week when I discovered that this entire celebration was hosted by the Sub-Continent Society, a student-led affinity group. The school continuously takes credit, as an administration, for the independent actions of its student body. The school claims to celebrate and foster diversity, but the administration does not go the required lengths to make this a truth. Is it really celebrating diversity when the entirety of the administration-organized celebration of the Lunar New Year was the presence of chocolate coins and red banners in the dining halls? Are we truly celebrating diversity when we fail to commemorate any traditional Korean holidays, let alone acknowledge the March 1 Sam-Il Korean independence movement? Are we really celebrating diversity when the entire dining hall changes their menu to accommodate Passover, yet fail to even acknowledge the existence of Ramadan? It angers me that future students will continue to live under Exeter’s web of lies. The root of these issues lie in plain sight.
Let us contextualize: on St. Patrick's day this year, Exeter changed their profile picture to one of a clover, which we all know is symbolic of the holiday. Though they quickly reverted back to the conventional big E, the fact that they had the idea to change their entire profile picture to celebrate and commemorate a predominately white holiday while failing to even acknowledge the existence of holidays celebrated by other non-white non-American groups is appalling.
A few weeks ago, at the student-led vigil, Exeter uploaded an image of the students sitting in solidarity of the eight killed in the horrific Atlanta shooting, in which they captioned, “The Exeter community gathered Monday night on the Academy Building lawn to remember the victims of the March 16 shootings in Atlanta and denounce hate and violence against Asians across the nation.” Nobody external to the Exeter community would be able to know this event was conceptualized, organized and run entirely by students. Why did they feel the need to omit that these actions were “student-led?” It’s evident that the school’s very own students are faster to condemn acts of bigotry than the organization itself. The students are more actionable than the Academy, who are present with the sole intention of helping us. The school will not acknowledge this.
This is only the beginning of the performative activism the school perpetuates. The school allowed five different cameramen to walk around during the eight minutes of silence, instead of having them pay respects. The institution prioritized the capturing of pictures of students grieving rather than grieving alongside them. On social media, the school actively depicts an environment that’s nearly perfect when on the screens. What happened to authenticity and genuine action? We as students cannot merely sit and watch. We are all oblivious to the truth.We are all victims of the Academy’s umbrella of lies.
I wish to avoid the word brainwashing, but there is precisely no better word to use. When I was a recently-admitted eighth grader back in March, I was dazzled by the number of fascinating and diverse posts that were being shared on social media. I was delighted to attend a school which supposedly cared for their BIPOC students. But when June rolled around and the tragic death of George Floyd began to take the headlines of newspapers, I was distraught at the Academy’s lack of response and condemnation. As a naive eighth grader, I let it slide. But even since then, there have been too many occasions where the Academy has failed to properly condemn racism. The Academy continues to show its roots as a proponent of white supremacy.
At this point, it is up to the students to revert this. The news I hear about schools all across the United States admit to damning things, all pertaining to racism and inadequate effort towards achieving true diversity. If we don’t act now, it’s going to be too late. What has happened cannot be reverted, but we can avert future consequences if we stand in use of our voice. Call the school out, email the administration, do whatever it takes. Let them know of their mistakes and errors. At an institution like Exeter, we have been given the ability to change our society, and it is our duty to use it wisely.
