Federal Way High School celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with a school-wide assembly back in October, which sparked controversy when an outraged parent informed a local conservative media outlet about their “concerns”. 

The content that sparked controversy was an AI-generated video that challenged the idea of what it means to be “illegal”. The video showed the perspectives of indigenous peoples from Latin American countries sharing that if they are indigenous, how can people call them illegal? Can you really consider anyone to be illegal when we live on stolen land? 

While I am a strong opponent of AI-generated content, especially in creative fields, the fact that the very people who are criticizing the use of AI in this assembly, don’t utter a word about AI-use in official posts from the White House speaks volumes. The use of AI is only criticized in this case because it challenges the political views of our current administration.

I attended this assembly with my peers and found it to be enriching, educational, and most certainly, unproblematic. One kid, though, felt offended by such a statement and parents felt the need to not only complain to the school about it, but bring it to the attention of a local conservative podcaster named Brandi Kruse. 

Brandi Kruse is the host of the podcast “unDivided with Brandi Kruse,” and, despite the name of the podcast, she is known for pushing right-wing ideology and in the case of this assembly controversy, did not have an open mind in the slightest. 

Kruse painted this presentation as one that had the sole intention to “vilify Donald Trump, vilify ICE agents, vilify the idea that the country should have lawful immigration…” What Kruse chose not to share was that this presentation also contained rich information about a variety of Latin American countries, there were showcases of traditional dance and music, and the audience was quizzed, not on information about ICE or immigration, but on important figures within the Latin American community. 

Heritage month assemblies and events exist to showcase different perspectives and enrich our community with opportunities to expand our perspectives. When attending, an open-mind is essential. Yes, some people might not entirely agree with the content they view or hear, but it is important that people hear a variety of perspectives. 

Furthermore, this assembly was carefully crafted by the LatinX Club at Federal Way High School. If this club found the content acceptable, who are we, as viewers, to complain?