Laney College Instructor Placed On Administrative Leave After Allegedly Telling Student To 'Anglicize' Her Name
OAKLAND (CBS SF/BCN) -- A Laney College instructor has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into an allegation of making racist remarks regarding the pronunciation of a student's name, the Peralta Board of Trustees president announced Sunday.
In a letter to news media, Board President Julina Bonilla did not identify the instructor by name.
"The Board does not take these allegations lightly," she wrote. "We understand the need to challenge and eliminate racism and white supremacy in all of its insidious forms, including the suppression of native cultures and languages and its demands that people of color conform to norms of 'whiteness'".
"We remain steadfast in our commitment to stand against any and all racist and xenophobic acts as they are antithetical to our principles as individuals, our professional duty as trustees, and closely held values to honor and support all students in the Peralta Colleges in their quest to better their lives and their communities through higher education."
The East Bay Times reported that the instructor allegedly had asked a Vietnamese-American student to "anglicize" her name because he found it offensive.
Bay City News identified said the professor as Matthew Hubbard, a math professor, who was placed on leave Friday after he allegedly asked a Vietnamese-American student, Phuc Bui Diem Nguyen, to "anglicize" her name because it sounded like a vulgarity and/or insult.
"I understand you are offended, but you need to understand your name is an offensive sound in my language," Hubbard allegedly wrote in an email to the student.
Hubbard has offered apologies to his student, but he remains on leave as of Sunday.
Bonilla said in her statement. "Consistent with his rights to due process, the instructor has been placed on administrative leave
pending the outcome of an investigation into this matter."
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