Former Pennsylvania State University English professor Zack De Piero filed a lawsuit against his former employer on June 15 alleging that the university discriminated against him because of his skin color. De Piero resigned from Penn State in August of 2022.
Rather than support their former colleague, nearly 400 Penn State professors have signed a letter defending the university’s practices, which they call “antiracism.” Penn State has multiple campuses, and only three faculty members from the Abingdon campus — where De Piero taught — have signed the letter so far. But hundreds of professors from the other campuses apparently favor university policies based on skin color.
The “Letter in Support of Antiracist Faculty at Penn State” does not actually respond to the specific accusations made in De Piero’s lawsuit. Rather, it dismisses the suit as another example of “attacks from reactionaries who claim that curricula, programs, and initiatives aimed at promoting inclusivity and equity are racist and divisive.” The letter even condemned the law firm De Piero hired, the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism, contending — without offering any evidence — that the firm used “fabricated arguments” to “undermine and vilify faculty members who have dedicated their careers to challenge systemic racism in higher education.”
The letter added, “We, faculty from higher education institutions across the United States [a few professors from other colleges added their names to the letter] stand in solidarity with our colleagues at Penn State who have embraced ongoing efforts in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB), which must be in addition to, not a substitute for, affirmative action and antiracist programs and policies.”
Ironically, Dr. De Piero previously taught in inner-city schools before taking the position at Penn State because he wanted to help students in those communities succeed. In an interview with Fox News, De Piero said that he was told in one presentation he was forced to attend, entitled “White Teachers are a problem,” that 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.”
De Piero added that this movement sees being white as the original sin. “I need to repent for that sin,” De Piero added.
In his 36-page lawsuit, De Piero alleges that there was a systematic effort by the Penn State administration to denigrate him and other white faculty members. For example, the filing alleges that white faculty were ordered to participate in an activity in which they were to hold their breath longer than people of color so as to “feel the pain that George Floyd endured.” Floyd’s death while in police custody in 2020 touched off multiple protests — many of which turned violent — across the country. “Dr. De Piero and other faculty were thus singled out, caused to experience discomfort, and feel the pain that George Floyd endured,” the lawsuit claims.
De Piero’s lawsuit also alleges that he was directed to teach that the English language is racist and “embodies white supremacy.” Such a viewpoint — that the English language itself is racist — is certainly one of the planks of the “antiracist” movement’s platform. For example, a paper issued by Portland Community College unashamedly makes this claim: “An integral part of any culture is its language. Language not only develops in conjunction with society’s historical, economic and political evolution, but also reflects that society’s attitudes and thinking. Language not only expresses ideas and concepts, but actually shapes thought. If one accepts that our dominant white culture is racist, then one would expect our language — an indispensable transmitter of culture — to be racist as well.”
He also alleges in his lawsuit that he was told that “racism against white people isn’t racism,” and that it was suggested that he seek mental-health treatment when he complained about these policies and training sessions. The lawsuit also contends that he was required to penalize students academically on the basis of race. He offered the example that, if he had students from East Asia or the Indian subcontinent who excelled over individuals from other minority groups, he was to penalize them with lower grades so as to equalize outcomes on a racial basis.
De Piero argues that everyone, regardless of race, can be successful at writing. Apparently, many of De Piero’s professors do not believe that, if their letter is to be taken at face value.
Of course, this intentional creation of division is a Marxist concept. Marxists either use existing grievances, or create grievances, to construct the idea of an oppressor class and an oppressed class. This is done to undermine our present society so as to replace it with a Marxist society — a society run by a communist oligarchy. George Orwell used this pattern in his classic novel Animal Farm, in which farm animals overthrew the farmer, but soon found themselves under the rule of an oligarchy of pigs. When the animals complained, they were told that while all animals are equal, “some animals are more equal than others.”
The university system was created in the Middle Ages, largely by the Roman Catholic Church, as a place where the academic community of professors and scholars would be unified in advancing knowledge while allowing for diverse thought — thus the term university.
The professors who signed the letter in opposition to De Piero’s lawsuit are rejecting that premise in favor of conformity of thought.
