Holocaust slogans on shirts

NEWCASTLE University students wore T-shirts emblazoned with Holocaust slogans on a boozy society night out.

Shirts featured scribbled references to Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp where over a million people perished during World War Two.

It is the latest society scandal to hit Newcastle University after tragic student Ed Farmer died during a vodka-soaked ‘initiation’ in 2016

Now the slogans – seen during an organised Mechanical Engineering Society event – has seen those behind it slammed.

“Students should know better than to mock the Holocaust,” said Dave Rich, from the Community Security Trust, a charity created to protect Britain’s Jewish community.

“We hope that any disciplinary action the university takes helps the students involved to understand just why their actions were so unacceptable.”

But those involved have not faced individual reprimands.

The Students’ Union, which has identified the culprits, never passed names to university bosses. So while the society was suspended, those wearing the shirts were not.

One student found that “shocking”.

“I’ve had friends suspended for things like house parties, so to do something like this and avoid punishment is awful,” said the student, who wished to only be referred to as Oliver.

“I don’t think you can blame the university for what happened, but not doing anything after puts them in a bad light.

“I’d have thought something like a

suspension would have been put in place. They are educated and have studied for a long time, and should know better.”

Papers reveal one onlooker, a senior student, “confronted” the culprits when he spotted the slogans on the Monday night out last October.

He later raised the alarm with a student committee to investigate.

The society was suspended and funding pulled. However, the suspension was later lifted after the culprits were identified and “addressed”.

We made repeated attempts to contact the Mechanical Engineering Society but received no response.

Other societies held similar ‘white T-shirt’ socials around the city.

With so many events, members of the Societies Executive Committee heard it was “hard to police”.

But the committee slammed the “unacceptable behaviour.” Controversial white T-shirt socials have been banned at other British universities. The events see students encouraged to write messages –

often offensive – on shirts while out in pubs and bars.

A Newcastle Students’ Union spokesperson said: “Following a society event, we received reports of potential inappropriate language on T-shirts worn by some members of a society.

“We take such reports very seriously and in this case action was taken against the society and appropriate sanctions implemented.”

It isn’t known exactly what date the group was suspended, although the committee is understood to have acted within days of the incident.

A Newcastle University spokesperson added: “This was a student society matter which was dealt with by the Students’ Union, and we understand appropriate actions and subsequent sanctions were implemented. The Students’ Union does have the option to escalate matters to the university where further actions or sanctions are deemed necessary, but no individual names were escalated in this instance.”