A noose was found hanging from a tree outside a dormitory on the campus of Stanford University in California. Several years ago ropes were tied to a tree for a performance by a student organization. The ropes were never removed from the tree. One of the ropes was made into a noose. Police are investigating the incident as a hate crime. It is the third time in the past three years that a noose had been found on the university’s campus.
In a message to the university community, Marc Tessier-Lavigne, president of Stanford University, stated that “a noose is a hateful representation of anti-Black racism and violence. It is deeply disturbing that someone would choose to inflict this repugnant symbol on our community. My heart aches for the members of our Black community who are experiencing a full range of emotions as a result of the appearance of this noose, including feeling targeted, fearful, or dismayed. I stand with you in rejecting hate and in stating that conduct of this kind has no place at Stanford.”
Stanford University enrolls about 6,400 undergraduate students. African Americans make up 7 percent of the undergraduate student body.
