Several students of The University of Regina in Canada are demanding the termination of a professor who made racist remarks against Indian students.
A professor of chemistry in the faculty of science, identified in the emails as Allan L. L. East, is facing “corrective action and disciplinary measures” after writing an email that contained racist remarks.
According to CBC News, in an emailed response, the University did not identify the professor but said it “can confirm that a faculty member sent an email that contained racist remarks aimed at a specific ethnic group of students in their class.”
Aysha Yaqoob, a student of the University, told NRI Affairs that the professor in question had sent an email to a select group of students “where he not only accused them of cheating (prior to any investigations ending), but he also called them “East Indian” and used rhetoric that suggested they weren’t Canadian and didn’t know the rules of Canada.”
Ms Yaqoob, who was not in the group that received the email but has read it, said, “The racism in his statement was clear, and regardless of whether the students cheated or not, it was inappropriate for him to approach them in this way.”
The said email was sent on 10 May this year.
‘I could not help but notice that all 14 of you cheaters have East India last names. None of the Canadian or other international students cheated. You must not cheat in Canada. Canadians don’t like cheaters,’ reads the email.
The president of the University of Regina held a short 30-minute meeting with the affected. Ms Yaqoob, who is not from India, says the students were not satisfied with the short and vague meeting.
The students have also launched a petition demanding the termination of the professor.
The petition launched by one Kayleigh Mikolas says, “The University has put him through “training”. This is not enough. He needs to be fired; the University’s words about anti-racism and activism are just empty promises. This is not the first incident at this school, but they need to start backing their words and protecting the students paying thousands of dollars a semester to learn from them.”
Vivek Asri
Image: “University of Regina Sign” by jimmywayne is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
