Yale University has placed Pierson College Dean June Chu on leave after after insensitive Yelp reviews mocking service people as "morons" and referring to restaurant patrons as "white trash" were discovered by students.
The Yale dean whose brutal Yelp reviews called service people 'morons' and restaurant patrons 'white trash' has been placed on leave
Yale has placed Pierson College Dean June Chu on leave after after insensitive Yelp reviews referring to restaurant patrons as "white trash" were discovered.
Chu will not participate in commencement activities or work with students through the end of the academic year, according to an email Pierson Head of College Stephen Davis sent to students Thursday morning.
In the email Davis said he was "grieving" and could no longer "envision a way forward" with Chu in an administrative position at the residential college.
Chu's reviews were discovered after she sent a letter to students in the residential college announcing she had become "Yelp Elite," according to the Yale Daily News. Students then searched the review-sharing site and found messages Chu posted over the past few years.
Chu, who has been dean of Pierson since 2016, has since deleted her account, but the YDN took screenshots of some of the reviews. Some of the most egregious read:
"To put it quite simply, if you are white trash, this is the perfect night for you!" - Koto Japanese Restaurant review
"I guess if you were a white person who has no clue what mocha is, this would be fine for you." - The Mochi Store review
"I loved the small theater feel without sketch crowds (despite it being in new haven)." - Criterion Cinemas review
"The front desk person this am, Bethany, was the rudest person and just full of attitude - seriously I don’t care if you would 'lose your job' (I am sure McDonalds would hire you)." - Retro Fitness review
"So what they have is barely educated morons trying to manage snack orders for the obese." - Entertainment Cinemas review
"On Saturday evening, I found out that she was in fact responsible for multiple reprehensible posts, enough to represent a more widespread pattern," he wrote. "The additional posts that surfaced compounded the harm of the initial two, and they also further damaged my trust and confidence in Dean Chu’s accountability to me and ability to lead the students of Pierson College," he continued.
Davis' email went on to say stereotyping of others is not tolerable in educators entrusted to oversee students.
Yale University has considerable wealth with $25.4 billion in endowment funds. It has educated some of the richest people in the world, and in 2015, Blackstone founder Stephen Schwarzman donated $150 million to the school.
Chu became dean of Pierson in 2016. There has been no indication from Yale administrators if Chu's leave is temporary or permanent.