'Psychological war campaign' that's 'trying to break people': Penn State professor directed to teach English is racist, subjected to 'White Teachers are a Problem' workshop, lawsuit claims

A former Pennsylvania State University professor recently filed a lawsuit against the school claiming he was discriminated against based on race and was directed to teach students that the English language is rooted in "White supremacy," Fox News Digital reported.

English professor Zack De Piero sued Penn State, alleging that the school forced him to participate in several "antiracist" workshops that were anything but, including one presentation captioned "White Teachers are a Problem."

"The 'White Teachers are a Problem' video imposed on Penn State faculty … associated 'White supremacy' with all the evils of the world," the suit stated.

De Piero was an English professor at Pennsylvania State Abington from 2018 to 2022, he told Fox News Digital. Last year, after facing racial discrimination, he agreed to leave the school, according to the lawsuit.

"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," the lawsuit said.

While at the university, De Piero stated that he witnessed a "continuous stream of racial insult directed at White faculty in the writing department."

He alleged that the university's Affirmative Action Office director stated that "there is a problem with the White race" and directed him to participate in "antiracist" workshops "until you get it."

"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 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."

De Piero reported to Liliana Naydan, the English department's associate professor and writing program chair. He claimed that Naydan attempted to introduce equity grading into the department.

"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.

Naydan also allegedly "instructed her writing faculty to teach that White supremacy exists in language itself, and 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 lawsuit added.

De Piero claimed that Alina Wong, a former equity administrator, had faculty participate in a breathing exercise during which she instructed white individuals to hold their breath longer to "feel the pan that George Floyd endured."

Penn State reacted to De Piero's concerns with retaliation, including a negative performance review and threats of "disciplinary action," the lawsuit claimed.

Penn State, Naydan, and Wong did not respond to a request for comment, Fox News Digital reported.

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