A mathematics professor at a college in Oakland, California, has been placed on leave after asking a Vietnamese student to ‘anglicize’ her name.
Matthew Hubbard took issue with the given name of one of his freshman students, Phuc Bui Diem Nguyen.
In a series of emails sent on Wednesday, on her second day in class, he told Phuc that her name was offensive.
‘Could you Anglicize your name,’ he wrote. ‘Phuc Bui sounds like an insult in English.’
Matthew Hubbard, a math professor at Laney College in Oakland, has been suspended
Phuc Bui Diem Nguyen, pictured speaking on ABC, was asked by Hubbard to change her name
Phuc, who had been nicknamed May while at high school, was proud of her birth name and was looking forward to using it at college, she later told ABC.
She responded to her teacher that she did not want to change it just to please him, and said she would respond by filing a Title IX complaint if he did not drop his objections.
Title IX of the Education Amendments Act of 1972 is a federal law that states: ‘No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.’
Hubbard did not relent.
Hubbard emailed Phuc to ask her to change her name. She replied immediately saying no
‘Your name in English sounds like F*** Boy,’ he wrote back.
‘If I lived in Vietnam and my name in your language sounded like Eat A D***, I would change it to avoid embarrassment both on my part and on the part of the people who had to say it.
‘I understand you are offended, but you need to understand your name is an offensive sound in my language.’
Phuc, whose email correspondence was photographed and shared on Twitter by a friend, said she had no idea what the term ‘Anglicize’ meant.
‘I never heard that before,’ she told ABC.
‘At that moment I was surprised, so I Googled the meaning – I didn’t know what it meant so I called my best friend to ask him what does that mean?
‘I was shook because growing up, they were problems with how to pronounce my name, but they would ask me how to pronounce my name.’
Hubbard did not relent when Phuc said that she did not want to ‘Anglicize’ her birth name
She said that Hubbard should have made an effort with his students.
Laney College’s 17,722 pupils are 26 per cent Asian – the largest ethnic background of all students.
Latinx students make up 25 per cent of the pupils, and African Americans 20 per cent.
White students comprise 15 per cent of the student body.
‘He’s being an ignorant person and not trying to learn my name,’ said Phuc.
Laney College on Thursday issued a statement saying that Hubbard had been placed on leave.
Laney College in Oakland, California, has suspended Hubbard pending an investigation
The college acknowledged allegations of ‘racist and xenophobic messages from a faulty member’ who is now on ‘administrative leave.’
Dr Tammeil Gilkerson, president of the college, wrote: ‘We have been firm and outspoken about our mission to educate, support and inspire students to excel in an inclusive and diverse learning environment rooted in social justice.
‘We want our students to feel safe and know that we honor their backgrounds, their experiences and everything that makes them unique.
‘They are everything that is beautiful about our college.’
Gilkerson said the college was investigating, but was troubled by the reports.
‘On the surface this incident is obviously disturbing and comes after decades of discussing and working to combat structural racism, xenophobia, and violence in both the Black and Asian Pacific Islander community,’ she said.
‘While our mission has been bold and unrelenting, we also recognize that our college and its community is a reflection of broader society and we must actively fight ignorance with education.
‘We do not tolerate racism, discrimination or oppression of any kind.’