San Francisco Chronicle is fact-checked for slamming famous selective public school Lowell 'lack of diversity' - even though most students are Asian

The San Francisco Chronicle got dragged on social media Monday for claiming one of the city's most selective public high schools wasn't diverse, even though minorities make up more than 83 percent of its student body.

The issue the Chronicle was trying to tackle in its Monday piece was the fact that only around two percent of students at Lowell High School are black. 

The article acknowledged in the second paragraph that the merit-based school, which limits admission based on test scores, is 'disproportionately made up of white and Asian American students.'

But the story was posted online with the caption: 'The lack of diversity at Lowell has long been a blemish on San Francisco's long-held academic crown jewel.'

According to US News & World Report, the racial breakdown at Lowell is 52.4 percent Asian, 17.7 percent Hispanic, 16.8 percent white and 2.7 percent black.

The Chronicle's post of the article criticizing the school's supposed lack of diversity was community noted on X with a link to the study's demographic breakdown.

The commenters didn't hold back, and many of their replies received far more likes than the San Francisco Chronicle's original post

The racial makeup of Lowell High School based on data from U.S. News

The replies were filled with people in disbelief that the Chronicle characterized Lowell as lacking diversity, with others attacking the legacy San Francisco paper for its alleged bias against Asian Americans. 

Diane Yap told the Chronicle to 'just say what you mean.'

'You're using "lack of diversity" when you really want to say "too many Asians,"' she wrote in the replies.

Another user going by Asian Crime Report said similar: 'What the Chron wants to say is that Lowell has “too many Asians.” This is anti Asian as it gets. Do better!'

Many others were particularly outraged at the Chronicle saying in its X post that Lowell's 'lack of diversity' has been a 'blemish' on the school's record for a long time.

'Call me a bleeding heart Liberal, but never one time have I ever referred to any group of Asians as a blemish,' user OakSyder replied.

The article was called 'outrageous,' an 'absolute disgrace,' a 'blatant bag of lies,' among other more colorful insults.

The entrance to Lowell High School, the subject of a recent piece in the San Francisco Chronicle

Some in the replies outright accused the Chronicle of hating Asians

Notable Lowell alumni include three Nobel prize winners, gorilla researcher Dian Fossey, Silicon Valley billionaires, and former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer

The Chronicle published the article Monday and was quickly hit with the overwhelming backlash

Lowell's reputation as a great place for academics is well known. It emphasizes honors-level and AP-level courses, offers many foreign language classes and a competitive slate of athletic teams.

Notable alumni include three Nobel prize winners, gorilla researcher Dian Fossey, Silicon Valley billionaires, and former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

Amid the dozens of success stories coming out of Lowell, the Chronicle's piece pointed out that only 14 black students were admitted to the selective school this year, making them just over 2 percent of the freshmen class.

The Chronicle suggested the policy changes were needed to boost the enrollment of black and brown students at Lowell and that the school wasn't planning to pursue those changes. 

The piece explains that opponents of the merit-based system Lowell has in place right now say the policy is 'elitist and racist against black and brown students.'

Pictured: Former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, who graduated from Lowell in 1955 and was a star member of its debate team

Supporters of a lottery system say this would boost the numbers of underrepresented students. That proved to be true when the school temporarily instituted a lottery admission system during the pandemic, according to the Chronicle.

Those in favor of the lottery want it to be permanent, while those who are against say it punishes high-achieving students as well as Asian American students. 

The school board reverted back to the merit-based system starting with the fall 2023 freshmen class, a decision they seem unlikely to change, the Chronicle reports.

While the merit-based system is likely to stay in place, school district officials did say that they are trying to boost the numbers of underrepresented groups by hosting tours, helping prospective students with their applications and hosting focus groups for Spanish-speaking and black students. 

The context doesn't appear to matter though, as when the Chronicle used the phrases 'lack of diversity' and 'blemish' to promote the article, it was open season on the publication.