By Gavin Chen What makes a school American? Is it the nationality of its students? The languages spoken in the hallways? Cultural identities? These are questions that some students—and perhaps even faculty members—have wondered about privately. SAS has experienced major demographic changes over the past decades. A growing proportion of students have spent most of their lives in China, and the student body today is more diverse than ever before. At the same time, fewer students hold U.S. citizenship than in previous decades. Yet having an American passport doesn’t automatically make someone more “American” than anyone else. Increasing diversity does … Continue reading SAS: Are we still an American school?

By Arielle Wang At the end of 2025, SASPD announced that grades will now come with descriptors, moving away from the precise numerical system students and teachers had long relied on. For those used to calculating down to two decimal points, the change quickly permeated hallway conversations…and sometimes debate. Grades have always carried enormous weight at SAS, and now the school suggests they should carry “clearer and more specific” meaning. But will adding words like meeting or approaching actually make performance easier to understand, or does it just complicate a long-established system? In this interview, we sit down with our … Continue reading Grades in Words

By Mimi Yao A symphony of celebratory clinks fill the restaurant. Meanwhile, alone in the office, Ma Meng Chen sits hunched over a plastic container of takeout noodles.  This was not the first time she had turned down her colleagues’ dinner invitations, nor would it be the last. As a member of the Hui（回族）, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority in China, Ma follows the religious practice of abstaining from pork. Her life is a careful balancing act between adhering to the religious customs of Hui culture and conforming to mainstream social norms, which makes the question of whether to attend … Continue reading  Searching for Identity in Yunnan’s Nascent AI Industry