Here’s some disconcerting news: apparently some New South Wales HSC students are taking their frustrations at having to read poetry out on the authors of those poems.
Brisbane author Ellen van Neerven, a Mununjali woman, had a poem from her book Comfort Food included in this year’s HSC English exam. ‘Mango‘, and its sly, lush imagery, was apparently too perplexing for a number of senior students, who have taken to Twitter and Facebook to berate van Neerven for writing a poem they just don’t get.
https://twitter.com/StandDan/status/919804021623341056
@ellenvanneerven ya poem kinda stanky but idk props for scoring a text in the HSC
— Oscar (@xxx_oscvr) October 16, 2017
— evelyn araluen (@evelynaraluen) October 16, 2017
Lots of HSC/Year 12 students studying authors’ work are abusing those authors online. Teachers/parents, please tell kids this ain’t cricket.
— Benjamin Law 羅旭能 (@mrbenjaminlaw) October 16, 2017
https://twitter.com/oz_f/status/919844965827559425
One tweet, which has since been deleted, simply @-ed van Neerven and said, “fuck you and your stupid mango bullshit!”
The future of Australia, folks.
Aside from being incredible rude, hassling an author who has absolutely nothing to do with your current exam stress aside from featuring briefly in your paper is really, really fucking dumb. Van Neerven didn’t ask to be on the English exam; in fact, according to the SMH, she wasn’t even consulted before her work was included. An NESA spokesman told Fairfax:
The authors are not advised in advance. They don’t know because obviously … for the security and confidentiality of the exam.
Ellen didn’t ask for this poem to be in the HSC, didn’t give permission, and she is suddenly getting barrages of tweets messages emails.
— evelyn araluen (@evelynaraluen) October 16, 2017
Fortunately we’ve got folks like Ben Law to get recalcitrant teens to apologise:
Anthony, you’ve abused someone online. I know you’re young, but be accountable for your actions mate.
— Benjamin Law 羅旭能 (@mrbenjaminlaw) October 16, 2017
@EllenvanNeerven ellen i would like to apologise for any offense i have caused, plz dont take it personally, I was just angry and frustrated
— Anthony Russo (@anthonyrusso99) October 16, 2017
Like, we get it; exams are stressful, and the HSC is a disastrous mess of stress and terror that would make anyone want to lash out. But if you want to lash out, do it at the people who wrote the exam question, or the teachers who didn’t prepare you properly, or the system that hinges your future on a few hours of hectic test-condition pressure. Don’t go after someone who writes poems. It’s embarrassing.
Also, oh my god, please never do this.
https://twitter.com/DeerBoarDude/status/919778611632025601
I just cringed so hard I popped a blood vessel. Good fucken grief.
