It's not a crime for minors to have alcohol on private property, but providing it or a place to drink it is, police say.
PRINCETON -- The Princeton Police Department said Friday morning they have started an investigation into the circumstance surrounding the photo of Princeton High School students playing a "Jews vs. Nazis" drinking game.
The photo, which shows students with dozens of beer cans setting up a drinking game referred to as Holocaust Pong or Alcoholocaust, was posted to a social media site recently and copied by another student, who wrote about it on her blog Thursday morning.
Police on Friday morning received information about the photo from an anonymous source, police Lt. John Bucchere said.
"We're going to take a look at the information we have and go from there,'' Bucchere said.
But, Bucchere said that possession of alcohol by minors on private property is not a crime.
"However, if there is evidence that someone bought alcohol for minors or provided a place specifically for them to consume it, that is illegal,'' Bucchere said.
The Princeton schools Superintendent Steve Cochrane confirmed in a statement issued Thursday that the juveniles in the photo were Princeton High School students and condemned the act and the game, saying he was "deeply upset" with the "clearly anti-Semitic overtones" of the game.
'Jews vs. Nazis' beer pong: It's what kids at this N.J. school are playing
But until Friday morning, neither Cochrane nor anyone else contacted police, Bucchere said.
"We are responding to this incident as educators,'' Cochrane said Friday. "We are supporting the individual students affected by what happened. We are meeting with faculty and with student leaders. We are considering offering specific programs, and we are examining those points in our curriculum where we can enhance students' understanding of key issues such as alcohol use, social media and tolerance of different faiths and cultures."
Bucchere said that he did not think the school was under any obligation to call police, since the alleged offense did not take place at school or at a school-sanctioned event.
"I'm not sure this falls under any kind of required notification," he said.
Jamaica Ponder, the 17-year-old junior at Princeton High School who first wrote about the photo on her blog, said in an interview Thursday with NJ Advance Media said she recognized the basement where the photo was taken from a home just blocks away from her Princeton home.
Ponder did not name the students in the photo but identified them as classmates and "athletes and student leaders'' in the school.
Ponder, who contacted school officials Wednesday but not the police. Since then, she has met with several school administrators about the photo, including the school Principal, Gary Snyder.
Keith Brown may be reached at kbrown@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBrownTrenton. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.