An assistant professor at the Duke University has stepped down in response to racist emails against Chinese students, which has sparked a great uproar since Friday.

Here are the screenshots of the emails sent by Megan Neely, director of graduate students for the Master of Biostatistics program, in which international students were warned to speak English instead of Chinese to avoid “unintended consequences”. According to Neely, two unnamed colleagues approached her about the students observed "not taking the opportunities to improve their English”and speaking Chinese in lounge and study areas. The faculty said they were trying to identify their names to reject the internships or project applications of those "being so impolite as to have an conversation that not everyone on the floor could understand.”  

In the email, Neely urged junior students in the program to “commit to using English 100 percent of the time” when they are in Hock Plaza—where the Biostatistics department is located—or other professional settings.

A committee of Chinese graduate students at Duke has drafted a petition calling for the University to set up “an independent committee to conduct a full-scale investigation into the incident surrounding Neely’s emails and the actions of the unnamed faculty members.” According to local media, as of Saturday evening, more than 1,000 students had signed the petition.

An apology letter to biostatistics students was later issued by Mary E Klotman, dean of the Duke University School of Medicine after the incident, saying a thorough review of the master’s program is underway, and Neely was asked to step down as director effective immediately.

“There is absolutely no restriction or limitation on the language you use to converse and communicate with each other. Your career opportunities and recommendations will not in any way be influenced by the language you use outside the classroom,” Klotman reassured students.