US professor removed over ‘Speak English’ email

International Desk: A US university professor has been removed as director of a graduate programme, amid a furore over an email she sent urging students not to speak Chinese.

Megan Neely, an assistant professor at Duke University in North Carolina, said in an email to students that two unnamed faculty members of the biostatistics Masters programme had complained to her about students speaking Chinese in public areas in the department.

She said that not speaking English could lead to "unintended consequences" for international students.

Her email went viral on Twitter and Chinese social media, while Duke's medical faculty has promised to review its biostatistics programme.

Many have criticised Dr Neely's email as racist or insensitive, and raised concerns that faculty members were discriminating against international students.

However, some ethnic minority students on the Masters programme told the BBC they supported Dr Neely, describing her as a supportive programme director and "definitely not a racist, not even close".

The email went viral after it was leaked online and reported in the student paper The Chronicle. Many found the language in the email patronising, while others wondered if the students had been targeted because they spoke Chinese, rather than another foreign language.

For many, however, the most concerning part of the email was the allegation that two faculty members appeared ready to discriminate against students based on what language they spoke with their friends.

Agencies


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