{"id":114413,"date":"2017-05-17T08:22:10","date_gmt":"2017-05-17T16:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=114413"},"modified":"2017-05-17T08:27:27","modified_gmt":"2017-05-17T16:27:27","slug":"wp-yale-dean-once-championed-cultural-sensitivity-then-she-called-people-white-trash-on-yelp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=114413","title":{"rendered":"WP: ‘Yale dean once championed cultural sensitivity. Then she called people \u2018white trash\u2019 on Yelp.’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington Post<\/a>: <\/p>\n

As the dean of Yale University\u2019s Pierson College, June Chu is responsible for advising about 500 students and fostering \u201ca familiar, comfortable living environment\u201d in keeping with the university\u2019s residential college system.<\/p>\n

Chu\u2019s biography states she has a PhD in social psychology and touts a long career in which she has \u201csought to help students not only succeed academically but to support their holistic academic experience and multifaceted identities.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the administrator\u2019s seemingly supportive and culturally sensitive persona has been marred since Yale students came across her Yelp account. Images of Chu\u2019s controversial Yelp reviews began circulating among Pierson students in recent months and were published by the Yale Daily News on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The problem wasn\u2019t so much what she said about the New Haven eateries and businesses she reviewed but rather her comments on the people who frequented them.<\/p>\n

The posts, published over the course of the last few years, referred to customers as \u201cwhite trash\u201d and \u201clow class folks\u201d and to some employees as \u201cbarely educated morons.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are white trash, this is the perfect night out for you!\u201d Chu wrote in a review about a Japanese restaurant, which she said lacked authenticity but was perfect for \u201cthose low class folks who believe this is a real night out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSide note: employees are Chinese, not Japanese,\u201d added Chu, who identifies in one review as Chinese American. In another restaurant review she said, \u201cI guess if you were a white person who has no clue what mochi is, this would be fine for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a 2015 review, she called a movie cinema\u2019s employees \u201cbarely educated morons trying to manage snack orders for the obese and also try to add $7 plus $7.\u201d<\/p>\n

…Others on Twitter pointed out an article Chu wrote for Inside Higher Ed regarding the importance of cultural sensitivity. One Twitter user said reading the article was \u201csatisfyingly ironic.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we advise students about their academic pathways, we must understand diverse students\u2019 practical concerns as well as their distinct cultural value systems,\u201d Chu wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany studies continue to indicate differences between white American college students and those from ethnic minority groups,\u201d Chu wrote. \u201cThus, when we as advisers only advocate following one\u2019s passion, we should ask of ourselves if we are microaggressors, telling students that is the only right way to engage in education.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n

So June Chu keeps her job @Yale<\/a> but Nicholas Christakis loses his. Discuss.https:\/\/t.co\/pgQ4h3HgoG<\/a><\/p>\n

— Philip Terzian (@PhilipTerzian) May 16, 2017<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n