Student leader tells of facing death threats and race abuse
Others suffer even more, claims university president
THE student president at a Scots university says he has been stalked, bombarded with death threats and sent racist hate mail since he took up the role.
Malaysian-born Raj Jeyaraj is the first international student president at Strathclyde University and was elected to the position in June.
But since he started in the leadership role, he says he has been told to “go back home”, received anonymous emails threatening to kill him and blamed and abused for global terror attacks.
Mr Jevaraj, 25, who only has one arm after being involved in a car crash in 2009, says he has also been targeted for his disability.
He said: “People will say ‘I saw you today, you better watch out’ There are descriptive things too [in the emails] such as what I’m wearing. They come from these anonymous email website. They say I deserve to lose my arm, they want to cut off my other arm, I receive death threats.
“It’s easy some times to say that haters are going to hate, but there is denial about the extent of the problem.”
The biochemical engineering student, who is required to take time out of his degree to carry out his role as student president, said he has tried to make himself as “accessible as possible” to students.
Not only does this mean many people know who he is and approach him for help, he is also an easy target for trolls and abusers. He explained that depending on world events, people assume he is from a certain culture or religion and abuse him as a result.
He said: “If something happens relating to people who are Muslim, I am somehow Muslim. If it relates to someone in the middle east, I am blamed. If an incident happens relating to Sikh people, I am blamed.
“Depending on what’s happening in the world somehow my competency at work is tied to my identity. I’ve got one arm, I’m from Malaysia, I’m brown. Everything I seem to be doing at the students union is scrutinised and is somehow being related to me being the first international president, or being brown.”
Not only has he been a victim of abuse, Mr Jevaraj claims many of his fellow students have too. During events like the Paris terror attacks or Orlando nightclub shootings, he said he receives up to three phone calls a day, mainly from female Muslim students concerned about abuse and their safety on campus.
He said the recent immigration ban by Donald Trump has also sparked widespread concerns among minority students on campus, who worry about their futures and their safety.
But despite the problems, he says he loves his job and wants to raise awareness about the issues.
He added: “There is still denial from people about the extent of the problem. People don’t want to accept that these sort of behaviours are there. That creates a much bigger problem. This is happening every other day to me, which is not as much as some other students.”
A Strathclyde University spokeswoman said: “Strathclyde works closely with the student president, and we are very proud of the work of our Students’ Association. The university has a zero tolerance to discrimination of any kind, including racism, and we do all in our power to deal with it head-on when it is brought to our attention, as well as supporting anyone who may experience discrimination.” OLA Muir, six, a pupil at Heriot Primary School in Paisley holds her painting of a pirate called Robbie, which is among 120 pictures by local children that have gone on display.
Paisley Museum is showing the drawings and paintings, from children ranging from those at nursery schools to young adults in their final year at secondaries, until April 18.
Ola’s work and a painting by Sophie Thompson, of Paisley Grammar and Beth Daly, both 13, from Park Mains High in Erskine feature on posters promoting the event.
Joyce McKellar, chief executive of Renfrewshire Leisure, said it aimed to provide a showcase for the art and design skills of the area’s young people. Picture: Colin Mearns
‘‘ People don’t want to accept that these sort of behaviours are there. That creates a much bigger problem