Not Cool: HSC Students Abuse Australian Poet With Racist Memes Over Unseen Text "Mango"

Well, it took precisely one day for an absolutely cooked story to emerge from the HSC exams.

An Indigenous Australian writer has been bombarded with online abuse after one of her poems was featured as a sample text in the Year 12 HSC English exam.

According to The Guardian, Ellen Van Neerven was flooded with abusive messages on Twitter and Facebook after students were asked how “the poet conveys the delight of discovery” in her poem “Mango”.

Some of the hateful Tweets have been deleted—including one that said, “on behalf of the state I would like to say F*** you and your f***ing Mango Poem”. However, one especially racist meme was screencapped for posterity:

Year 12 students are posting racist memes about Indigenous poet Ellen Van Neerven on FB after her poem was in this year’s English exam. pic.twitter.com/X8np1GBIVc

— Osman Faruqi (@oz_f) October 16, 2017

Many students came to Van Neerven’s defence…

TBH I liked Mango by @EllenvanNeerven in the HSC, but the question set by NESA was not good and was a far reach to concepts taught.

— Sarah Hamilton (@sarahliux) October 16, 2017

@EllenvanNeerven @evelynaraluen im actually glad your poem was included. Sorry for all the hate you are getting from petty students.

— Caitlin (@Caitlin_1999_) October 16, 2017

… while others asked her directly to answer their exam question (though, it’s probably a bit late for that).

@EllenvanNeerven Could you explain the message and reasoning for choosing that writing style in your poem "Mango"? I had difficulty with it.

— Carter (@HerpsnDerps14) October 16, 2017

Dear @EllenvanNeerven, What is the meaning behind your poem, "Mango", and how does it link to the ideas/concepts of discovery?

— Allan Biala ⛱ (@DeerBoarDude) October 16, 2017

One student who initially sent abusive messages to the poet apologised for their actions, arguing he is “just a frustrated and stressed out student”.

End-of-year exams are definitely stressful, so make sure you take care of yourself during this period. But remember: there’s no excuse for racist or sexist hate speech. And there are far better and more productive ways to vent. So, ease off the authors. And remember…

If you can't think of anything to write about @EllenvanNeerven's poem, the problem does not lie with the author. It lies with you.

— Sarah Holland-Batt (@the_shb) October 16, 2017

Van Neerven is yet to make a statement about the abusive messages.

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Photo: Twitter.com/EllenvanNeerven