Classmates Draw
"Gay," Nazi Symbol on Boy's Chest

Three students in Rome wrote the word gay and drew a swastika on a classmate's chest, according to AGI, an Italian news agency.

An unnamed official from the Mario Mieli organization for gay rights told AGI that the episode is "extremely serious, not only because it offended and shocked the boy, who did have the courage to report it, but also because it recalls ancient methods, which should just belong to the past."

A teacher at the school immediately reported the event to the headmaster, who notified local police.

"For the three boys, it may just have been a stupid thing, a way to prove their strength," the official said, "but to us it is an extremely serious episode that indicates the tendency to isolate, using uncalled-for violence". (The Advocate)