Matthew Hubbard, a math professor at Laney College in Oakland, Calif., was placed on leave after he reportedly asked a student to Anglicize her name because it “sounds like an insult in English”:
We are aware of the allegations of racist and xenophobic messages from a faculty member at our college with a student about the pronunciation of their name.
Click here to read President Gilkerson's full statement: https://t.co/MBDl9mA7Kr pic.twitter.com/ATYyfLWIEO
— Laney College (@Laney_College) June 19, 2020
. . .The student’s given name? Phuc Bui Diem Nguyen.
And here’s the email she allegedly received from Prof. Hubbard with the request:
Laney College professor Matthew Hubbard is asking a Vietnamese student to “Anglicize” her name to accommodate him. pic.twitter.com/0CulBh49Jb
— karly (@aybarlyy) June 18, 2020
FYI, Phuc Bui is not pronounced “F*ck boy,” but as “Fook Buoy”:
"My sister graduated high school thinking she can finally be able to use her name."
"I love that my parents want to keep my culture alive by keeping our Vietnamese name. If you can't say it then ask."
FYI: Phuc Bui is pronounced like Fook Buoy.
— viet thanh nguyen (@viet_t_nguyen) June 19, 2020
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Professor Hubbard then asked her a second time when she refused his first request, writing “your name is an offensive sound in my language”:
EXCLUSIVE: “I was shook.”
Vietnamese American Laney College freshman Phuc Bui talks about what it was like when her teacher sent her an email asking her to “Anglicize” her name. pic.twitter.com/nUPiw19k3r
— Dion Lim (@DionLimTV) June 19, 2020
LOL California. Keep up the great work:
2020 and this happens everywhere, including in Oakland, CA, where 100+ languages are spoken.
Oh, and hell yes to Phuc Bui Diem Nguyen's response. https://t.co/Xd5hzH7hO2
— Monica Campbell (@monica_campbell) June 19, 2020
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