After a string of racially charged incidents, a noose found in the library at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) campus Feb. 26, sparked a protest in which students took over the chancellor’s office for several hours.
No one was arrested during the protest, which is being described as peaceful, according to Boston.com. Students, wearing red handkerchiefs over their faces, blocked the doors to Chancellor Marye Anne Fox’s offices and left peacefully after sundown. Around the same time, members of the university’s Black Student Union spoke with administrators about increasing the African American curriculum and campus activities.
The noose was discovered on the seventh floor of Geisel Library. For black students, the noose is controversial, as it reminds them of the days of widespread racism and lynching.
In a letter posted in the university’s newspaper, The Guardian, the student allegedly responsible for the controversial noose incident issued an apology, stating that she had made a stupid mistake and that the incident was not an act of racism. Her identity is currently unknown.
Campus officials have suspended the student, who said she and her friends were playing with a rope, jumping with it, making a lasso and then a noose. She carried the noose with her to the library and strung it over a desk on Feb. 23 and forgot about it. She immediately confessed to campus authorities once she realized that she was responsible for the controversy on campus.
Campus officials are still investigating the incident. It is unclear whether the student will be charged with a hate crime.
The incident takes place less than two weeks after an off-campus “Compton Cookout” party was organized by some students that encouraged attendees to dress as ghetto stereotypes and promised to serve chicken, watermelon and malt liquor.
For additional information, click here.
