Stanford University is currently investigating a noose found hanging outside a campus building. The noose was found on in a tree outside of an undergraduate residence hall. This is the third time in three years that the California university has had to deal with an incident of this nature. The school has removed the noose and is investigating the situation as a May 8 hate crime.
In a May 9 email to students and faculty, Vice Provosts Susie Brubaker-Cole and Patrick Dunkley wrote:
“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.”
The Vice Provosts asked that anyone with information on the incident come forward. They also shared details on the mental health and other support services available from the university to the school community.
Anne Charity Hudley, a Stanford University professor of Education, African-American Studies and Linguistics, expressed her opinion about the incident on Twitter. In a May 9 tweet, she wrote:
I wrote my whole thread last night before I woke up to the news of a noose that was found last night outside a Stanford undergraduate residence hall. We all have so much more work to do. In our national organizations and on our campuses, we deserve so much better than this.
— Anne Charity Hudley (@ACharityHudley) May 9, 2022
There are nearly 17,000 students on the Palo Alt, CA campus. According to data from the university, 23 percent of the Class of 2025 is white, 8 percent are Black and 25 percent are Asian. In 2019, a noose was found hanging near a residence hall where a group of high school students of color were staying for a summer program. And in 2021, a student reported seeing two long ropes that looked like nooses hanging in a tree near a walking trail.