Author: Kristin Lam / Source: USA TODAY
A Duke University official stepped down Saturday after her
Megan Neely, who had been the university’s director of graduate studies in the biostatistics department, told the program’s students in an email Friday to only speak English on campus and in professional settings. The email titled “Something to think about…” triggered a petition with over 1,900 signatures and has been shared across Twitter as well as Chinese social media site Weibo.
In the email, Neely claimed two unnamed faculty members complained to her about a group of students speaking Chinese “very loudly” in a common area. They asked to see photos of the first and second-year students so that they could “remember them if the students ever interviewed for an internship or asked to work with them for a master’s project.”
A university spokesperson confirmed in an email to USA TODAY that images of the email shared online were authentic.
“They were disappointed that these students were not taking the opportunity to improve their English and were being so impolite as to have a conversation that not everyone on the floor could understand,” Neely wrote in the Friday email. “To international students, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep these unintended consequences in mind when you choose to speak in Chinese in the building.”
“I have no idea how hard it has been and still is for you to come to the US and have to learn in a non-native language. As such, I have the upmost respect for what you are doing,” she continued. “That being said, I encourage you to commit to using English 100% of the time when you are in Hock or any…
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