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LSE investigates Nazi card game that ended in Jewish student's broken nose

 

Nathan Briant
Monday 16 January 2012 17:21 GMT
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An investigation has been launched at the London School of Economics as to why a Jewish student on a skiing trip organised by the university’s students’ union had his nose broken after objecting to fellow students playing a card game called 'Nazi Ring of Fire'.

Although the alleged attack, which took place between 9th and17th of December, was not reported to the French police, it is being treated by the university as anti-Semitic. As part of the game, players were reportedly required to 'salute the Führer' and cards were laid out in the shape of a swastika. .

Alex Peters-Day, the General Secretary of the LSE’s Students’ Union said that the university was planning “educational as well as punitive sanctions that would be settled upon” shortly, after she had met with the dean of undergraduate studies, Dr Janet Stockdale. She said that students involved in the attack could face possible expulsion from the athletics union and students' Union. She added that the victim of the attack is keen to remain anonymous.

The president of the Jewish Society at the university, Jay Stoll, to whom complaints of the behaviour had been made last Monday by eight students, said that while he did not feel that anti-Semitism or racism was “endemic” at the university there were parts of the athletics union who had “no regard for political sensitivity” but rather adhered to an “unwritten code” which was frequently racist or sexist.

Brendan Mycock, the president of the athletics union, told the students' union newspaper, The Beaver: “The athletics union prides itself on our open and tolerant nature and behaviour of this sort is not acceptable and is not an accurate representation of the behaviour we uphold ourselves to. Being in the athletics union is about being a team, behaving with respect to our team-mates and athletics union peers and representing our union and our university.”

He was unavailable for further comment today.

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