LSE faces Nazi drinking game claims

by Denise Amend

The London School of Economics (LSE) has come under scrutiny again after claims that a Jewish student’s nose was broken when he objected to a Nazi-themed drinking game.

The University confirmed that it was investigating allegations that a the student was injured after a brawl on the athletics union trip to Val d’Isère.

LSE, one of the UK's most renowned academic institutions, was at the centre of controversy last year after it accepted a £1.5 million donation for research from a foundation run by the son of the former Libyan dictator, Muammar el-Qaddafi.

In a statement, the University labeled the allegations as “disturbing” and said it did “not tolerate anti-semitism or any other form of racism” and was “prepared to take disciplinary action if the allegations are shown to be true.”

LSE's student newspaper The Beaver reported that students played a Nazi-themed version of the drinking game Ring of Fire, which involved playing cards arranged on a table in the shape of a Swastika and players were required to ‘Salute the Führer’.

The Jewish student, who did not wish to be identified, told The Guardian that there had been “a mix of personal references and general Jewish insults,” after he had left the game.

"I've seen this kind of game before, so it wasn't so much the game that offended me, as much as the anti-semitic gibes that went with it,” he said.

'Nazi glorification'

LSE's Jewish Society President Jay Stoll said that, “Nazi glorification and anti-semitism have no place in our universities, which should remain safe spaces for all students.

“This incident highlights the worrying trends of contemporary anti-semitism, but beyond all else indicates a depressing lack of education from students of an esteemed institution.”

The incident comes after a recent survey commissioned by the Union of Jewish Students has shown that 20% of Jewish students had experienced anti-semitism, and a further 32% witnessed it in the last academic year.

Alex Peters-Day, General Secretary of LSE Student's Union, said: “This is so at odds with everything the LSE and the union stand for. The Students’ Union does not tolerate any form of discrimination in any of its activities. A ‘drinking game’ with a Nazi theme could not be further from our values and we condemn the actions of those who participated in it.”

The Holocaust Educational Trust condemned the incident: “It is incomprehensible that students at a prestigious institution could think that a Nazi-themed drinking game was acceptable – that it led to anti-semitic insults and ultimately violence towards a Jewish student is sickening.”