Photo by Chad Dulake, 2010 [CC BY-SA 3.0]
By Cecilia Nguyen, co-Editor-in-Chief
Images of smiling high schools students in a Nazi salute surrounding red cups in a shape of a swastika went viral over the weekend and have created an uproar among many students, parents and community officials. These photographs were taken on Snapchat during an off-campus party by students who are believed to be from Newport Harbor High School (NHHS), Costa Mesa High School and Estancia High School, according to CBS Los Angeles.
Newport-Mesa Unified School District was notified on Sunday morning about the incident and has since sent out a letter to parents, denouncing the actions of the students.
“We were recently made aware of social media postings involving some students who created inappropriate anti-semitic symbols, and possible underage drinking,” the letter stated. “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.”
At this time, the students in question will reportedly face suspension as the district continues to investigate the incident 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,” said district spokeswoman Adriana Angulo.
The three Snapchat images went viral across social media platforms Instagram and Twitter as concerned and angry students voiced their opinions, prompting the incident to gain more traction.
Joey Sable, a senior from Orange County School of the Arts, expressed his outrage at the photos through an Instagram post, which has since reached over 18,000 likes and 2,500 comments.
“I am present on the ignorance of the partygoers- on how one could dare to think of producing a joke out of something so stemmed and embedded in hate and malice. For whoever to post to attempt to justify their actions by stating anti-semitic derogatory language is normalized? Why is it hard for people to understand why the death of millions of people at the hands of Nazis is nothing close to a comedic joke, is still felt generationally, and will continue to regress society?” stated the caption.
Ava Ganz, a high school senior at a Jewish day school, also posted screenshots of the accused students’ group conversation, in addition to the Snapchat images in a Twitter thread, which has received over 15,500 retweets and 40,000 likes.
“My initial reaction was pure shock,” Ganz told Teen Vogue. “I don’t know how such a symbol of hate comes up at a party. I felt I had to do something about it because it couldn’t just be passed by as OK, or as a joke. I couldn’t stand by that as a Jew.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, a student present at the party told another student in an online conversation that “you are stupid if you think we actually support what Hitler did. It was a joke. None of us are … Nazi supporters.”
The “joke” however, concerns many beyond the Newport Beach and Costa Mesa communities, including Fountain Valley.
“I think the whole incident was horrifying, and it made me ashamed to be a part of a generation that thinks that this kind of stuff is okay. It made me sick hearing about it and it breaks my heart that they’d be so thoughtless. Whatever punishment is decided, I just hope the kids that took part understand that even if it was a joke, it was incredibly disrespectful and hurtful to many people, whether they intended it to be or not,” said FVHS sophomore Tori Hirota.
In addition to the meeting held Monday night at NHHS, another meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Thursday at Corona Del Mar High School to address the incident.
Justin Hsieh and Karen Phan contributed to this story.
