Police are still investigating a noose found last weekend near a residence housing high school summer camp students, Stanford administrators wrote in a blog post Sunday morning.
The 3-foot long white rope, with a loop at one end, was discovered hanging from a tall bush in front of the residence. The Stanford Department of Public Safety (SUDPS) has received no reports of similar activity on campus and believes the incident is isolated.
Over the course of the week, Stanford police have met with FBI agents specializing in hate crimes and civil rights violations in its investigation of the incident. Additionally, Stanford’s Acts of Intolerance Office are meeting with residents of the building where the noose was discovered, and Counseling and Psychological Services offered drop-in hours at the Black Community Services Center on Thursday.
“While we await further conclusions from the investigation, we feel it is important to state that a noose is recognized as a symbol of violence and racism directed against African American peoples,” wrote University Communications. “Such a symbol has no place on our campus.”
Sunday’s blog post, authored by Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole and Department of Public Safety Chief Laura Wilson, did not specify whether the noose would be reclassified as a hate crime, as Stanford suggested could be a possibility. The Daily has reached out to the University for comment.
The noose was found close to midnight on July 12 by a camp advisor living in a different campus residence. The camp advisor then told the program lead, who called 911. Stanford police, who were investigating a different incident at the time, arrived at the scene shortly after midnight. Police took the noose as evidence and spoke to the high school students living in the residence, as well as the camp advisor who reported the noose.
Anyone with additional information on the incident is asked to contact SUDPS at 650-329-2413.
“We would like to thank those who brought this incident to the attention of our respective offices and to those who have provided information to further the investigation,” wrote Brubaker-Cole and Wilson.
This article has been updated to include information from the Notes from the Quad blog post published Sunday morning.
Contact Holden Foreman at hs4man21 ‘at’ stanford.edu and Erin Woo at erinkwoo ‘at’ stanford.edu.