Penn State University condemned a photo circulating on social media of students showing off swastikas drawn on their bodies.
The student-run Daily Collegian reported that the photo consists of two females with swastikas drawn on the back of their left shoulders, one of which is reportedly a Penn State student. There is a third female in the picture with an unclear drawing on her back.
Penn State condemned the student in a tweet, writing: “The reported anti-Semitic post is deeply disturbing and sickening. The [university] is contacting the individual alleged to be involved. The Penn State community can visit http://equity.psu.edu for a wide range of resources.”
The university added: “We will continue to speak out against hatred and intolerance.”
Penn State THON, a philanthropy group dedicated to fighting childhood cancer, tweeted that the student was a former volunteer for the group.
“We are incredibly disappointed to see an image of a former volunteer affiliated with an anti-Semitic mark,” the group wrote. “We have not, nor will we ever, condone this behavior in any set or setting.”
The THON chapter added that the group could not discipline the student.
“We can however can ensure that there is no tolerance for anything like this within our organization,” Penn State THON wrote. “We will continue to better educate our volunteers and empower our community to spread messages of hope, love, and positivity to combat hate.”
An anonymous student set up a petition on Change.org calling for the student in the photo to be expelled.
“Allowing her to remain a student of Penn State is a disservice to all Jewish people, living or dead,” the petition states. “It sends the message that anti-Semitic actions and ideals are accepted by the university, and that Penn State doesn’t care about protecting its Jewish students, as well as other oppressed and underrepresented minorities.”
As of this writing, more than 39,000 people signed the petition.
Additionally, another Penn State student was accused of using a racial slur during a May 31 protest against the May 25 death of George Floyd, an African-American man, in Minneapolis police custody. The university condemned the student’s alleged remark in a tweet, but noted in a subsequent statement that the university cannot expel students over speech.
“A public university does not the power to expel students over speech, no matter how morally reprehensible it may be,” the statement read. “But the university does have the power to condemn racism and address those who violate our values.”
