An Australian student accused of racial discrimination is facing a A$200,000 legal bill (approximately $154,000 in U.S. currency) because of a Facebook post he made criticizing his university’s Indigenous-only computer lab policy.
The Brisbane Times reports Queensland University of Technology student Alex Wood is being sued under the Racial Discrimination Act over a Facebook post he made in 2013.
In the allegedly offensive Facebook post, Woods wrote that he “[j]ust got kicked out of the unsigned Indigenous computer room” and that the university is “stopping segregation with segregation.”
Two other students who questioned the university's policy are also involved in the lawsuit. One student made a racial slur, while another student asked, in jest, where the “white supremacist lab is.”
The lawsuit comes after Cindy Prior, an Indigenous woman, reportedly asked three students trying to access the computer lab “whether they were Indigenous.” When the students responded that they are not Indigenous, Prior told them to leave the “Indigenous space for Aboriginal Torres Strait students.”
According to the Brisbane Times, Prior then “went on sick leave following the incident.” The Brisbane Times states reports claim she “felt unsafe leaving her home because she was afraid somebody would say something offensive to her.”
The defense for all impacted parties could cost approximately A$500,000.
Prior is also seeking A$250,000 in damages for racism.