Students quit over anti-US slurs
`American students are quitting Queensland universities in the face of hate attacks by Australians angry at US President George W. Bush and the war in Iraq.
One university has launched an investigation into claims an American student returned to the US after suffering six months of abuse at a residential college in Brisbane.
American students have told The Sunday Mail the verbal attacks are unbearable and threatening to escalate into physical violence.
Griffith University student Ian Wanner, 19, from Oregon, said abusive Australian students had repeatedly called him a “sepo” – short for septic tank. “It is so disrespectful. It’s not exactly the most welcoming atmosphere here,” he said.
The Queensland Anti-Discrimination Commission has described the abuse as “horrible” and says it could be classed as racial vilification.’
