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Penn State professor sues the college after he claimed he was forced to teach that the English language is 'racist' and the 'embodiment of white supremacy'

By Aneeta Bhole

 

Daily Mail

June 27, 2023

 

Zack De Piero, 40 - an English professor who worked at Pennsylvania State University - is suing the college on claims that they racially discriminated against him and other white staff

 

An English professor who worked at Pennsylvania State University is suing the college on claims that they racially discriminated against him and other white staff.

Zack De Piero, 40, served as an assistant professor of English and Composition at Penn State-Abington from 2018 to 2022. 

During this time he claims he was forced to grade 'hispanic and black' students differently and was subject to exercises centered on critical race theory where white staff were made to feel 'terrible.' 

The lawsuit, which was filed earlier this month in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, also claims he was forced to teach that the 'English language is racist and embodies white supremacy.'

De Piero, the son of first generation immigrants from Italy, said his family were 'actively discriminated against - instilling a life long commitment to treating all Americans equal,' the lawsuit reads.

The 40-year-old said that after alerting the university of his perceived discrimination officials allegedly retaliated by filing a bullying and harassment complaint against him and handed down lower scores on his annual performance review.

'When he complained about the continuous stream of racial insult directed at White faculty in the writing department, the director of the Affirmative Action Office told him that 'There is a problem with the White Race,'' the lawsuit alleged.

It added that he 'should attend 'antiracist' workshops 'until [he] gets it,' and that he might have mental health issues.'

According to the court filing some of the workshops included a presentation captioned 'White Teachers are a problem.' 

De Piero told Fox News that because he was white he was 'inherently flawed on the basis of history.'

'As a White individual, I'm somehow responsible for all the injustices and suffering currently in the world and in the history of the world,' he said.

'I think there is almost a religious, cult-like environment where you had this Original Sin. In this case, I'm White. I need to repent for that sin. 

'I need to keep going to these [trainings], keep doing the work… I think they were waging a psychological war campaign and they're trying to break people and they almost broke me, but they didn't.'

He was enraged by his treatment after dedicating his career to working with underprivileged and marginalized communities at work and in his personal life. 

'How dare you demean anybody based on their natural characteristics that they have no control over,' De Piero told the outlet. 

 

During this time he claims he was forced to grade 'hispanic and black' students differently and was subject to exercises centered on critical race theory where white staff were made to feel 'terrible' - Liliana Naydan (L) and Alina Wong (R) were named as defendants in the suit

The lawsuit against Penn State was filed earlier this month in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

 

Liliana Naydan, who De Piero said he had to report to 'expressed her view that racism practiced against White faculty and students is legitimate,' according to the lawsuit.

Its been claimed that Nayden tried to introduce equity into the grading process to ensure there weren't disparities by 'penaliz[ing] students academically on the basis of race.'

'Defendants' bigotry manifests itself in low expectations - they do not expect black or hispanic students to achieve the same mastery of academic subject matters as other students and therefore insist that deficient performance must be excused,' the lawsuit said. 

'Second, Defendants' bigotry manifests itself in overt discrimination against students and faculty who do apply consistent standards, especially White faculty.'

In one exercise, a former equity officer named in the suit, Alina Wong, allegedly engaged staff in a breathing exercise suggesting white staff hold their breath longer than people of color to 'feel the pain that George Floyd endured,' the lawsuit claimed.

'De Piero and other faculty were thus singled out, caused to experience discomfort, and feel 'the pain' on the basis of their skin color,' the lawsuit said. 

Wong no longer works at Penn State and is currently the vice president for institutional equity at Macalester College, according to her LinkedIn.

It was also claimed that Naydan 'instructed her writing faculty to teach that White supremacy exists in language itself.'

'Therefore, that the English language itself is 'racist' and, furthermore, that White supremacy exists in the teaching of writing of English, and therefore writing teachers are themselves racist white supremacists,' the suit said. 

It was also claimed that Naydan 'endorsed a view that racism against white people isn't racism.'

The lawsuit continued: 'Penn State actively treated De Piero as the problem, suggesting mental health treatment and disciplining him for bullying when he dared to complain. 

'As a result, De Piero's only option to escape the hostile environment was to leave Penn State. This constructive termination occurred on August 2, 2022.'

When contacting Naydan for comment, Penn State Assistant Vice President for Media and Executive Communications for the University told DailyMail.com: 'Penn State does not generally comment on pending litigation.'

Speaking to centredaily.com Powers added a lengthier response and said: 'The university has repeatedly affirmed its active and ongoing commitment to diversity and equity, and made clear its desire to create an inclusive and respectful environment in which to live, work and study.'

DailyMail.com has also contacted Wong for comment but did not immediately hear back.

 

De Piero now works as an assistant professor of English at Northampton Community College

 

In June 2022, De Piero received his annual performance evaluation and disagreed with the lower scores. 

He told the outlet that the service component of his work was rated only as 'fair to good,' the equivalent of a 2 on a 5-point scale, when he used to receive scores more in line with a 4 out of 5. He resigned less than two months later. 

'I envisioned a long, productive career at Penn State as a composition instructor and educational researcher, but the experiences of the past 2+ years have taught me that, at Penn State, I'm unable to stand up for essential principles — for civil rights, for workers' rights, or for educational excellence — without professional penalties being imposed,' De Piero wrote in his resignation letter. 

'I will now turn my attention to advocating for these principles from outside the Penn State University system.'

He now works as an assistant professor of English at Northampton Community College.