Anti-Asian graffiti sparks outrage at U.of Sydney

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Racist graffiti targeting the Asian community was splashed across the campus of the University of Sydney, marking the second time in 10 months that the university has been vandalized with hate speech.

Offensive racist slogans like, "Stop the Asian invasion," "No more g**ks" and “Kill Chinese” were seen scribbled on walls, signs and bus stops across the campus, which frightened many Asian students at the Australian university, the Daily Telegraph reported on Tuesday.

Images of racist graffiti discovered on the campus were posted on Facebook. / Photo via Yahoo Seven News

The incident came to light when two images depicting racist graffiti were uploaded to the Facebook group Newtown 2042, which has nearly 9,000 members, according to Yahoo Seven News.

"This is racist, this is unfair. Seeing an Asian-Australian woman reading this broke my heart. This is not what Australia should be. I hope this sign is removed," the person who uploaded the image to Facebook wrote.

"No More G**ks" was found written on a sign attached to a building on the campus. / Photo via Daily Mail

The graffiti was found throughout the campus. International House, a residential college housing 200 students from Australia and overseas, was one of the buildings that was targeted by vandals, along with posters, bus stops and parking meters, the Daily Telegraph reported.

The post on Facebook, along with the growing number of racist signs, ignited outrage on social media, and also raised the concern of students, university staff and local residents towards this issue.

The campus of the University of Sydney / VCG Photo

But the university responded quickly to the issue. A spokeswoman from the University of Sydney Union (USU) said that the signs were immediately removed when they were discovered and students would be offered support.

"Last year there was a similar incident in one of the Union buildings," she added.

"We do not accept that two incidents of graffiti 10 months apart are a sign of a systemic problem," said a spokesman from the university, adding that it was an "isolated incident."

The University of Sydney Union posted an announcement on its Facebook page regarding the racist graffiti discovered on the campus. / CGTN Screenshot from Facebook

In July 2017, anti-Asian graffiti was discovered scrawled in the bathrooms in the university’s International House. The USU made an announcement on its official Facebook page, showing its concern and promising to remove the graffiti as soon it was discovered.