High school students from Newport Harbor High School and Costa Mesa High School in Orange County, California are pictured giving the Nazi salute over a game of beer pong in the shape of a swastika in photos that were published to Snapchat and have now gone viral.
One of the photos is captioned “German engineering.”
Said Adriana Angulo, a district spokeswoman for Newport Mesa Unified to the OC Weekly: “We were recently made aware of social media postings involving some students who created inappropriate anti-semitic symbols, and possible underage drinking. While these actions did not occur on any school campus or school function, we condemn all acts of anti-semitism and hate in all their forms.”
“We continue to gather information regarding the conduct of these students and work with law enforcement,” Angulo added. “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. We are asking that parents please partner with us in helping students make good decisions, be respectful of others, and to always use good judgment.”
Costa Mesa Mayor Katrina Finlay released a statement discouraging vilification of the teens pictured in the photos: “Glorifying or even joking about these symbols contradicts the values we share as a diverse community. Normalizing these symbols as a joke is dangerous. We must challenge this kind of bias. We cherish our city’s Jewish community, as well as people of all backgrounds, religions, ethnicity, genders and more. This abhorrent anti-Semitic activity is divisive, unbecoming of our community and leads ultimately to hate and discrimination. While we take seriously and object to this hateful activity, I discourage vilification of these teens. 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.”
CBS LA’s report:
