Kensington, NEW SOUTH WALES—A Sydney university student has been expelled after she was caught faking Asian ethnicity to improve her grades.
Campus police at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) detained 23-year-old Australian woman Michelle Lee, under allegations of pretending to be Asian in order to be awarded a higher score for her end-of-year final exams.
It is believed the 23-year-old took advantage of her culturally-ambiguous surname to trick the both fellow students and university staff into thinking she was Asian giving her straight-HDs and First Class Honours.
"She started listening to K-pop, wearing Supreme, and drinking Bubble Tea at every opportunity," one of Ms Lee's classmates revealed to News.con.au.
Statistics from the 2008 to 2018 indicate that students of Asian descent are consistently awarded the highest grades in universities all around Australia, with students of Chinese and Indian background claiming the top spots.
A spokesperson for the university said: "Unfortunately for this student, she has fallen to the common misconception that Asian International students get awarded the highest grades. In fact, it has nothing to do with racial background - it's just a coincidence that Chinese students can afford the most expensive tuition fees, and hence why they tend to graduate so consistently."
