USC anonymously receives anti-Semitic newletters

The flyers were sent through the printing system

On Thursday, 24th March 2016, USC was among several colleges to receive anti-Semitic newsletters anonymously through wifi-connected printers.

The flyers were sent by renowned hacker “Weev” through exploitation of the poorly safe-guarded printing system at these schools.

Other schools that were subjected to these flyers include Princeton, UMass Amherst, Brown and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The flyers featured two swastika symbols, an old symbol of well-being before being used for the Nazi party so that it is now synonymous with fascism and anti-Semitism, and directly addressed the “white man”. They also contain a link to a website encouraging neo-Nazi behavior.

Other universities attacked have strictly condemned these flyers, calling them “cowardly” (Subbaswamy, UMass Amherst) and stating “[the university] deplore[s] expressions of hatred directed against any individual or group” (Minter, Princeton).

USG Senator Daniel Newman, a freshman who was sworn into office just yesterday evening, addressed the gravity of this and other incidents of swastikas being drawn on campus buildings, saying: “USG has invested an abundance of time and effort into improving campus diversity, and—more importantly—into developing a mutual respect among all students from all backgrounds.

“I am beyond disheartened to hear of these multiple instances of antisemitism on campus. There is no place for any kind of hatred on our campus. We must recognize these deplorable acts and broaden the scope of our efforts to improve campus climate by ensuring that all forms of discrimination do not go unpunished.”

The racist flyer in question

Hopefully USG is able to encompass a broader portion of their constituency as they make steps in the future to improve campus climate.

However, upon release of this article, USC officials have not made a statement regarding the appearance of these flyers on campus, and when called for comment have failed to respond.

Former USG Senator Jacob Ellenhorn, who is Jewish, commented on the lack of public response from campus activists as well.

He said: “It’s rather ironic that individuals who routinely call out racism on our campus protested an event just last week called ‘Stop the Jew Hatred.’

“These same people have yet to say anything about what has been going on.”

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University of Southern California