An award-winning indigenous author has allegedly been racially abused online by groups of HSC students who analysed her poem in their final year exams.
Ellen van Neerven’s poem ‘Mangoes’ featured in English Paper One on Monday with students asked to ‘explain how the poet conveys the delight of discovery’.
After the exam, several hundred students took to Facebook’s HSC Discussion Group after the exam to post vile memes relating to the work.
Ellen van Neerven’s (pictured) poem ‘Mangoes’ featured in English Paper One on Monday with students asked to ‘explain how the poet conveys the delight of discovery’
While some were just frustrated that they didn’t understand the meaning behind Mangoes, other memes descended into racial territory – one in particular relating the author to an ape (pictured)
Many students reached out to Ms van Neerven on Twitter and Facebook, calling her a host of nasty names (pictured)
Cruel taunts were directed at the indigenous author via her Twitter account (pictured)
‘F*** you and your stupid mango bulls***,’ another carefully worded tweet directed at Ms van Neerven continued (pictured)
‘In all honesty there wasn’t much to analyse because it reads like a four year old wrote it,’ one person wrote.
‘F*** you and your stupid mango bulls***,’ another carefully worded tweet directed at Ms van Neerven continued.
While some were just frustrated that they didn’t understand the meaning behind Mangoes, other memes descended into racial territory – one in particular relating the author to an ape.
Another replaced the star sign for Cancer as a mango on an astrology chart to infer her poem was a disease.
Wild accusations and slurs were hurled at the author on social media this afternoon (pictured)
Another replaced the star sign for Cancer as a mango on an astrology chart to infer her poem was a disease (pictured)
Close friends of the author stepped in when death threats were allegedly being made towards Ms van Neerven, many of which were saved as ‘screenshots’
Ms van Neerven’s official Wikipedia page has also been edited to mention the furore.
Close friends of the author stepped in when death threats were allegedly being made towards Ms van Neerven, many of which were saved as ‘screenshots’.
Evelyn Araluen, a poet and PhD candidate at the University of Sydney, said she would track down where the students went to school and show their superiors what they had been writing online.
‘It doesn’t matter how you wanna spin it the behaviour being directed towards Ellen is enormously disrespectful. She’s a person,’ Ms Araluen wrote.
Author Omar Sakr also joined the online discussion by tweeting at the NSW Department of Education, calling on them to investigate the serious nature of the memes.
So far Ms van Neerven has not responded to any of the social media attacks.
Many came to Ms van Neerven’s defence on the HSC Discussion Group (pictured)
The incident has now been recorded on Ms van Neerven’s official Wikipedia page (pictured)
A NSW Education Standards Authority spokesman said exam questions had been set by a committee of experienced English teachers.
‘The authors are not advised in advance,’ he said. ‘They don’t know because obviously… for the security and confidentiality of the exam.’
The second English exam will be held on Tuesday with a new set of questions and stimulus.