ALERT – SUPPORT THE STUDENT WALK-OUT AGAINST WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITY’S PLAN TO ELIMINATE WORLD LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C., August 21st, 2023 - The public outcry against West Virginia University’s (WVU) planned elimination of the Department of World Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics continues to grow. In addition to JNCL-NCLIS’s statement that urges WVU to reverse this decision, lengthy news stories about the cuts have appeared in the Washington Post and on National Public Radio online. Additionally, a number of moving op-eds are already circulating online, including one in Slate and one in the New York Times from an associate professor of German at NYU. A petition on change.org that advocates for the preservation of world language instruction at WVU has garnered more than 20,000 signatures.
On Monday, August 21st at noon, West Virginia University’s students will walk out of class in opposition to the school’s planned cuts. According to the MetroNews, two protests are planned at that time – one in the free speech zone at the Mountainlair and another at the Evansdale athletic fields next to the Student Recreation Center. JNCL-NCLIS supports these protests and hopes for a strong showing at WVU.
_______________________________ About JNCL-NCLIS: Established in 1972, the Joint National Committee for Languages (JNCL) and the National Council for Languages and International Studies (NCLIS) unites a national network of leading organizations and businesses comprised of over 300,000 language professionals to advocate for equitable language learning opportunities. Our mission is to ensure that Americans have the opportunity to learn English and at least one other language. Contact: info@languagepolicy.org