A prominent student rights’ group, along with the student’s attorneys and the Hindu American Foundation, urged the George Washington University to revoke suspension of the Jewish student for placing a souvenir Hindu swastika obtained on a trip to India on his residence hall’s bulletin board.
“GWU may not ignore thousands of years of history and effectively forbid all uses of the swastika because it was used by Nazi Germany,” said Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which defends and sustains individual rights at America’s colleges and universities.
“It’s ironic that the charges against the student illustrate the very point he was trying to make in the first place–that context is important and there’s much to be learned about the history of the swastika,” FIRE Program Officer and attorney Ari Cohn said.
On March 16, the student placed a small, bronze, Indian swastika (a sacred symbol for Hindus and Buddhists) on a bulletin board at GWU’s International House residence hall.
He intended to educate his friends and co-residents about the symbol’s origins, which he learned about during a spring break trip to India, the media release said.
The student had learned on his trip that although the swastika was appropriated by Nazi Germany, it has an ancient history in many cultures as a symbol of good luck and success, the media note said.
After a fellow student reported the swastika to the GWU police department, the university allegedly suspended the student and evicted him from university housing, pending the outcome of five disciplinary charges.
The university also referred the incident to the District of Columbia police for investigation as a potential “hate crime.”
FIRE wrote to GWU President Steven Knapp on March 27, calling on the university to immediately drop the charges against the student.
–PTI