Yale Dean's 'White Trash' Yelp Review Causes Controversy

NEW HAVEN, CT — A Yale University dean is in hot water after a series of Yelp reviews, including some calling customers "white trash."

The Yale Daily News took screenshots of Pierson College Dean June Chu's reviews. In one review of Koto Japanese Restaurant, she wrote, "To put it quite simply: if you are white trash, this is the perfect night out for you!"

Chu was placed on leave after more of the reviews came to light, according to the Associated Press.

She went on to say the establishment was "...perfect for those low class folks who believe this is a real night out," and "...Side note: employees are Chinese, not Japanese."

Chu has a Ph.D. in social psychology and was the director of the Pan Asian American Community House at the University of Pennsylvania for seven years, according to her Yale University biography. She also has an extensive research background in best practices for advising in higher education. To sign up for New Haven breaking news alerts and more, click here.

Chu apologized in an email to members of her residential college, according to the New York Daily News.

“I have learned a lot this semester about the power of words and about the accountability that we owe one another,” Chu wrote. “My remarks were wrong. There are no two ways about it. Not only were they insensitive in matters related to class and race; they demean the values to which I hold myself and which I offer as a member of this community.”

Yale College Dean Jonathan Holloway hasn't asked for her resignation.

Some students interviewed by Yale Daily News expressed surprise once Chu's reviews surfaced. Others expressed disappointment.

Photo by Christopher Capozziello/Getty Images