Stanford investigating noose found on campus as a hate crime
Stanford University announced on Monday that it is investigating a noose found hanging near an undergraduate residence as a hate crime.
“A noose is a hateful representation of anti-Black racism and violence,” Stanford President Marc Tessier-Lavigne said in a statement to the school’s community.
“It is deeply disturbing that someone would choose to inflict this repugnant symbol on our community. We are working in vigorous and committed ways to advance equity, inclusion, and belonging in our Stanford community. We have been making progress. But incidents like this one show how far we still have to go,” he added.
The noose was found on Sunday evening hanging from a tree near the undergraduate residence of Branner Hall, according to the school.
Stanford said several ropes were apparently used for a student performance a few years ago and were left tied to the tree, with one found Sunday turned into a noose.
School officials said the noose was removed immediately after the Stanford University Department of Public Safety was notified about it, with the incident now being investigated as a hate crime.
“We cannot state strongly enough that a noose is a reprehensible symbol of anti-Black racism and violence that will not be tolerated on our campus. As a community, we must stand united against such conduct and those who perpetrate it,” two vice provosts, Susie Brubaker-Cole and Patrick Dunkley, said in their own statement on Monday.
Stanford noted that nooses or potential nooses have been discovered on its campus before, including in November and in July 2019.
In November, the school received a report about two long chords hanging from a tree near a walking trail, but it said at the time it could not be “certain whether the ropes were deliberately fashioned in the shape of nooses, or were part of an abandoned swing or rope ladder” given how long they had been hanging there.
In July 2019, a noose was also reportedly discovered near a residence hall on campus.
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