What does it tell you about an institution when its leader at one of the most public events of the year, attended by dignitaries, faculty, staff, students and their families, merrily launches into full-blown mockery of people speaking Asian languages, surrounded by chuckling colleagues? This is exactly what happened at Purdue University Northwest last week. (See this article in the Washington Post, which includes a video of the wretched speech.)
Meanwhile, here at UW-Madison the Language Institute has launched the “Multilingual UW-Madison” campaign, which celebrates the creativity and strength multilingual speakers bring to the institution. I am grateful to be part of this initiative (link to my interview below).