Asian students call on University of Toronto to take action after staff hands out ‘hell money’

Asian students at the University of Toronto are calling on the school’s administration to address the “hell money” sent to them in envelopes for Lunar New Year last week. 

The students in a graduate residence received what is known as joss paper or incense paper instead of cash, according to NBC News. Money is normally given as a gift during the holiday.

The bank notes are typically utilized in ceremonies for someone who has passed away but signify ill will when sent to someone who is living. The paper can be burned at funerals or ancestors’ birthdays as an offering to those who have passed. 

“[It] sends them the message of ‘you are dead to me’ or even worse, ‘I wish you were dead,’” says an open letter to the school’s administration signed by a number of student groups, according to NBC. “It is not only insulting, but heavily unacceptable.”

Students created a Change.org petition calling for officials to launch a formal investigation into the incident and take additional steps to combat Asian hate on campus. The petition demands an official apology to all students, increased mental health support, a “detailed course of action” to prevent similar incidents in the future and a student-run system to monitor culturally insensitive actions. 

University of Toronto administrators apologized to those affected by the bank notes in a statement to NBC Asian America. 

“We treat incidents of racism with great seriousness, and we have investigated this matter fully. We have concluded that the error was not intentional or malicious,” administrators said. “We deeply regret that this mistake occurred during a time that was meant to be joyful and celebratory.”  

The institution also apologized to Asian students on WeChat, a Chinese social networking app, adding that the envelopes had been rescinded. 

NBC reported that the University of Toronto did not detail who distributed the joss paper. 

The Hill has reached out to the university for comment.