A noose was placed over the head of a statue of Homer on the campus of the University of Virginia. Video surveillance revealed that the noose was placed by a White male.
Police collected other evidence at the scene but have not revealed further details. In a statement, the university police department said that “there was no substantive note that reflected any threats, motive, or information that warranted notification to our community. We are in the process of evaluating items that were left behind to determine what value they have with respect to our investigation.”
The statement went on to say that “this is a deeply concerning incident on our Grounds and we understand that our community wants and deserves information. However, we must take care to preserve the integrity of our investigative process by not releasing information that only the suspect or persons who have intimate knowledge of this event would know. ”
In response the group Black U.Va. wrote an open letter in the student newspaper that read in part: “The silence and inaccuracy of information from the administration are explicit acts of collusion against the safety and well-being of Black students and Charlottesville community members. Apathetic silence in the face of explicit anti-Blackness and the threat of racialized violence does not contain the problem of white supremacy. It does not protect Black students — in fact, it actively frustrates Black student efforts to mobilize, organize and hold space for healing.”
Racism is alive and well in American higher education, as it is in all other sectors of the American society.