Filipino American Writer Leaves Cambridge PhD Citing Racism

In a first-person essay for Vogue, writer and former Cambridge University PhD student recounts her decision to leave the institution in 2023 due to pervasive racism. The author, a Filipino American woman, describes incidents including a lecturer targeting her for 'resting bitch face,' being 'portered' at college doors while white classmates passed, and being excluded from a private dinner with poet Claudia Rankine. She also details the case of Dr. Jason Arday, a Black professor who faced online harassment and accusations of plagiarism, which she links to anti-Black racism at Cambridge. The essay criticizes the university's handling of racism, contrasting Arday's treatment with that of Dr. William O'Reilly, who kept his post despite plagiarism findings. The author's memoir, from which she quotes, explores her experiences as an undocumented immigrant and her disillusionment with the institution.