Pictures of students playing Nazi salute drinking game around red cup swastika trigger outrage

Captions reading 'ultimate rage' and 'German rage cage' accompany photos of game circulated on social media

A group of California high school students appeared to do the Nazi salute while gathered around cups arranged in the shape of a swastika, according to photos posted on social media.

School officials in Newport Beach announced they are working with the police to investigate several of these photos reportedly taken at a student party over the weekend, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The images surfaced on Sunday and have since sparked widespread condemnation from school administrators, elected officials and community organisations over the display of antisemitic symbolism – the latest in a series of similar incidents at schools and colleges nationwide this year.

“We have a concern both for the physical health of students who are underage drinking as well as the mental health of our students or their friends that thought this was an OK thing to do,” Newport-Mesa Unified School District president Charlene Metoyer told CBS Los Angeles.

The Southern California school district covers more than 58 square miles and includes the cities of Newport Beach, Costa Mesa and Corona del Mar.

In other pictures circulated on social media, people could be seen toasting over the makeshift swastika as text superimposed over the image read “ultimate rage.” Another caption on a picture of the cups described the scene as a “German rage cage”.

“More should've been done to make sure the students recognise the severity of the symbols they were using,” Ms Metoyer said. “It is not something funny. It's a very, very serious situation.”

The school district could not be reached for comment early Monday. the Times and the Orange County Register reported that some of the teens were believed to be affiliated with Newport Harbor High School, a public school in the district that serves 2,400 students.

In a statement shared to Instagram on Sunday, administrators from the high school said that although the event did not happen on campus or at any school-related function, “we condemn all acts of antisemitism and hate in all forms.” The administrators noted that they were continuing to “gather information regarding the conduct of these students and work with law enforcement.”

“We remain focused on educating students on all aspects of life's challenges and are committed to holding students accountable, educating them on the consequences of their choices, and the impact these actions have on our schools and community at large,” the statement said.

The Newport Harbor High School Associated Student Body also denounced the behaviour captured in the photos.

“Any negativity due to any type of persecution is utterly wrong, unacceptable, and will not be tolerated,” read a statement posted to Instagram on Sunday. “To all those negatively affected, you have our deepest apologies.”

It is unclear whether the people in the photos may be disciplined, but Ms Metoyer told the Register that district officials and school administrators met Sunday with a crisis team to discuss a course of action.

“I'd like to see genuine remorse from the perpetrators here,” she said, once again emphasising the importance of increased education and awareness. “They need to learn about what those symbols mean and how devastating it is to see it occurring in 2019.”

Criticism of the students' actions went beyond the school district Sunday as scathing statements came from elected officials including Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Foley and Representative Katie Porter, as well as local branches of organisations such as the Anti-Defamation League and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

In a lengthy statement on Facebook, Ms Foley said, “There is no place for hateful symbols of swastikas and Nazi salutes in our community.

“This abhorrent antisemitic activity is divisive, unbecoming of our community and leads ultimately to hate and discrimination,” she said.

Ms Porter echoed Ms Foley, tweeting that “this display of a hateful, antisemitic symbol” has “no place in Orange County.” She added that parents and community leaders should “redouble” efforts to “educate young people about the history of violence against Jewish people worldwide.”

In a tweet sharing the photo of the people raising their arms in a Nazi salute, the ADL's Orange County and Long Beach branch said it was taking the images “very seriously”.

“Swastikas & Nazi salutes are never funny,” the ADL wrote. “When such actions are considered jokes, hate and bigotry become normalised.”

According to a recent report from the ADL, incidents of antisemitism in the United States have gone up 57 per cent between 2016 and 2017 – and the dramatic rise is largely attributed to a “significant increase” in cases in schools or on college campuses.

Last year, a Wisconsin school district launched an investigation after a group of boys were photographed at prom doing what appeared to be the Nazi salute, the Washington Post reported.

In January alone, there were at least two instances of high school students displaying the Nazi salute. On 18 January, two students from Minnesota were condemned for a Nazi-themed school dance invitation, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

One day later, school officials from an Indianapolis suburb announced they were investigating a photo of a soccer team in which players appeared to be showing the problematic salute, the Washington Post reported.

By late Sunday, images from the party were all over Facebook and Twitter, many slamming the photos as “disgusting” and demanding the students be expelled.

“These kids aren't just ignorant – this is dangerous,” one Twitter user wrote.

Ms Foley, however, stressed that vilifying the teens was not the answer.

“Instead, we need to seriously address why teens in our community might think these types of hateful symbols are acceptable or funny and worthy of selfies,” she said, calling for the implementation of “better anti-bias and anti-hate content” in school curriculums and in extracurricular activities.

“We must develop comprehensive programming so that students can empathise with people different than themselves.”

Washington Post