Skit at Grammar labelled racist
‘Ching, Chong, Ling’ awards — ‘it’s not just a joke,’ student says
An Oscars skit at Auckland Grammar School is under fire after prefects gave out maths and science awards to stereotypical Asian names such as “Ching” and “Chong”.
A Year 13 student at the school said the prefects’ skit was presented at a school assembly yesterday morning.
“In the skit, they included a segment of the best math and science students, which was presented by the head boy of our school who was white. And the students who were given this award in this skit were named after stereotypical Asian names such as Ching, Chong, Ling, etc,” the student said in an email to the Weekend Herald.
Another student said: “The joke was that students with stereotypical Asian names won all the maths awards. However immediately after, they read out the ‘English awards’ and these were given to students with stereotypically white names like Jackson, Johnson and Smith.”
The Asian student who sent the original email said he found the skit “extremely offensive”.
“What I find extremely concerning is that I have heard that the headmaster of our school, Tim O’Connor, actually looks over the script and approves what is allowed to get kept in the skit and what isn’t.
“What’s worse is that they have made this joke every year that I’ve attended this school.”
He said he thought the person who wrote the script was white and it was sad that most people at the school didn’t consider how “jokes” would affect Asian students who experience racism. “I just find this extremely offensive as an Asian that they preach about being a ‘Grammar Man’, while making jokes like these which unfortunately does make people laugh, but at what cost? I hope that people understand that it’s not just a joke.”
Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon commended the student who exposed the incident and said he would write to the school about it.
“Any form of racism, regardless of whether it is a joke or not, should not be tolerated,” he said. “People are not born with racism, they are not born with these words, and, if they are socialised into this way, it just vilifies part of our community.”
Foon said the Auckland school was renowned for its educational achievement.
“But this type of behaviour is to be condemned, and, you know, what sort of message is the school sending out to future customers of theirs, because I guarantee that a large number of their customers are fee-paying customers from overseas,” he said.
On July 1, 7 per cent of Grammar’s 2603 students were fee-paying international students. Another 37 per cent were New Zealand residents of Asian ethnicity, almost equal to the 39 per cent of European ethnicity.
However the other student who gave details about the “English awards”, who gave his name as Evan, said the skit was not racist.
“It is obviously ludicrous to suggest that this suggests that the institution is racist against white students and it is equally ridiculous to suggest that the skit implied a racist environment towards Asians.”
Another student said: “As an Asian student at the school, I can fully guarantee that the very high majority of Asian students did not take offence to this joke. I believe the accusation is extremely silly and bending to the pressures of political correctness. Take a joke.”
But a fourth-form student said he thought the skit was “super-racist”.
“The skit also mocked one of the
Indian deputy headmasters with his pre-examination briefing in an Indian accent,” he said.
O’Connor said Auckland Grammar did not condone racism.
“We pride ourselves on being a multicultural school respecting the 33 ethnicities that make up our student body and do not condone racism.
Academic aspiration for all students is a primary part of who we are,” he said. “I have contacted Meng Foon and I am also happy to meet with the student to discuss any concerns.”
The incident comes at a time of heightened awareness of racism, stemming from Black Lives Matter protests. There have been complaints about the use of the “n” word at two other Auckland schools, Lynfield College and St Cuthbert’s College.
In July, Foon launched the Racism is No Joke campaign, targeting antiAsian memes and jokes shared online, and has spoken out against anti-Chinese behaviour stemming from the advent of Covid-19.