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Campus puts money for the dead into lai see

The University of Toronto apologized Friday for a cultural blunder after giving out joss paper or “hell money” in red envelopes to students for Lunar New Year, reported the Toronto Star.

Joss paper is normally burned at traditional Chinese funerals. “Lai see” or red envelopes are passed out by elders to children as a good luck gesture to celebrate the New Year.

“Unfortunately, incorrect banknotes were unintentionally placed into the red envelopes,” a campus spokesperson said via email. “The University of Toronto deeply regrets this error.”

According to Asia One, triads give out ‘hell money” as a death threat. The university called it an accident.

“There was no malicious attempt behind this action and we deeply apologize for the error.”

The explanation came too late for many students.

“We were all shocked upon hearing this,” Ivy Zhang and Alex Chow, co-presidents of U of T’s Canadian Asian Student Society, said in a message to The Globe. “We are disappointed by the Graduate House’s lack of research into cultural sensitivity and proper etiquette. The mistake could have been avoided had university staff consulted Chinese students or staff members.”

The Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice says the incident only adds to a rise in racism and bigotry.

“It’s very frustrating given the last year and a half, where anti-Asian racism was so much on the rise and on people’s attention…and to have the U of T being so insensitive and disrespectful and totally insulting the community,” the group’s Amy Go told the Globe.

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