![]() Giving hell money to living individuals is repugnant since it can be a malicious curse. Shockingly, these red envelopes contained “Hell Bank Notes,” traditionally offered to the dead during funerals or festivals. On February 1st, 2022, Spring Festival, the University of Toronto Graduate House distributed red envelopes to students and residents who were celebrating the Spring Festival. The University of Toronto, home to numerous Asian students and staff, must take the leading role in Canadian society to nurture cultural diversity, inclusion, and equity. Culturally inappropriate actions, perpetuating marginalization of our people, need to be stopped. Confronted with historical misrepresentation and oppression, the Asian communities demonstrated resilience and strength. The University of Toronto must be proactively committed to diversity and equity. We must not continue to take such a reactive gesture to forms of racism-whether intentional or not. Equipping staff and students with adequate knowledge and resources to identify and report cultural imperialism, specifically misuses of Asian cultural elements.Ĥ - Create a student-centred monitoring system to forestall such culturally offensive practices.Educating staff and students about the cultural significance and proper acknowledgement of the hell bank note and why it is extremely offensive, particularly during the Spring Festival.Establishing an on-campus organization, employing cultural consultants to eliminate any practical possibility of similar incidents.We suggest the following actions as a starting point: This event at Graduate House calls for more specific measures and protocols. It is the university's responsibility to ensure respect, equity, and inclusivity for students from all cultural and racial backgrounds. The statement must also address why the red envelopes were distributed without consulting with students or staff of Asian heritage and why the Graduate House staff conducted this racist and culturally imperialistic action.Ģ - Provide essential care, especially mental health support for students who have been negatively impacted by this incident.ģ - Offer a detailed course of action to all students and staff across three campuses to prevent any further unwarranted appropriation of cultural contents and expressions. This apology, along with further explanation, shall provide a comprehensive account of the incident. We, Asian students significantly impacted by this inappropriate practice, demand that the University of Toronto:ġ - Provide an official apology to all students on three campuses, and commence investigation for this inappropriate action. We are writing in regards to a horrible cultural offence that happened at the University of Toronto (U of T) on February 1st, during which the Graduate House Resident Team placed a bowl of red envelopes filled with "Hell Bank Notes" at the common area (see "the incident" for more information). ![]()
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