Students protest following the rejection of only Latina professor in Harvard University.
The Harvard Crimson

In a previous article published by Latin Post a fired teacher who won an appeal in Texas after she tweeted to the president to remove the undocumented students in the school where she was teaching. This caused public outcry and support as the district removed the teacher from her post.

Now another teacher was rejected and not because of her acts but because of her race. In an article published in remezcla, students at Harvard protested on Monday following the rejection of the tenure of the only Latina professor at Harvard University. Lorgia Garcia-Pena is supposed to head the ethnic programs as demanded by the students.

In an article published in the students' publication of the university, The Harvard Crimson, it was said that there were around 50 students who joined the demonstration and took over the University Hall for around 48 minutes. Meanwhile, the ethnic advocates have been calling on the Ivy League school to make its selection and process transparent by giving equal opportunities regardless of race and establish ethnic studies program.

Students who protested sent an open letter to University Provost Lawrence S. Bacow, Provost Alan M. Garber '76 and Claudine Gay the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences asking them to reverse their decision over the rejection of tenure of Harvard Latina professor. They also asked for a transparent review of the administrators' decision. Moreover, students also asked an investigation if there are errors, prejudice, or discrimination over the rejection of the tenure of Harvard Latina professor.

The open letter was signed by 200 students, 30 groups, and another letter was signed by 972 faculty members and their affiliates. The Harvard professor is well-loved by her students. In tweets from one of her students, Mercedes Gomez, it was said that Garcia-Pena is an associate professor at the University who is teaching romance languages and pieces of literatures is the only Latina teaching at the university.

This is not the first time that the Harvard professor was discriminated against. In September of this year, a police investigation was made following an incident in which a note was left inside the office of Garcia-Pena insulting her ethnicity and questioning her presence at the university. In another incident, on-campus officers unreasonably asked for the ID's of Garcia-Pena's students while they were installing an art exhibit in Harvard Yard.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time that students supported the professor. Members of the academy wrote a letter of support in her tenure in the ethnic program during the spring semester and many expressed their support as she is the only Latina professor and is known to mentor Latinos currently studying at the university.

Students at the university have been asking to create and establish an ethnic studies program for nearly five decades already. They believe that Garcia-Pena is the best candidate for this position because of her excellent performance and has the capabilities to lead the Ethnic Studies initiatives.

In the open letter of the students addressed to the school administrators, they asked to offer Ph.D.s in ethnic studies in the following programs:

  • Native American and Indigenous Studies
  • Latinx Studies
  • Asian American Studies
  • Muslim American Studies
  • Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies

The demonstrators also asked to establish an ethnic studies research center.