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Noose found hanging from tree on Duke University campus

"These cowardly acts of bias and hatred will strengthen our resolve to love and support each other." - Vice President of Student Affairs Larry Moneta

By Doug G. Ware

DURHAM, N.C., April 1 (UPI) -- Administrators at Duke University in North Carolina are trying to determine who slung a yellow rope that was tied into a noose around a tree branch on campus.

The noose was discovered hanging in Bryan center plaza on the Durham school's campus, and was removed about 2:45 a.m. Wednesday, the Duke Chronicle reported. Administrators, student leaders and community members condemned the display as a symbol of racism.

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"To whomever committed this hateful and stupid act, I just want to say that if your intent was to create fear, it will have the opposite effect," Vice President of Student Affairs Larry Moneta wrote in a statement to Duke's student body. "Be assured that the Duke community will provide all the support necessary to help us all get through this.

"In time, each of these cowardly acts of bias and hatred will strengthen our resolve to love and support each other."

The Duke People of Color Caucus, which formed in the aftermath of a racist chant last month at the University of Oklahoma chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, reacted swiftly to the noose's discovery.

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"Please take care of yourselves and each other. This campus is not a safe space, and has proven beyond any doubt that it is a hostile environment for any and all black people," the group posted to a social media profile Wednesday.

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Duke University's is a campus that has been accused in the past of harboring varying forms of racism -- both subtle and overt. Two weeks ago, it was reported that a group of drunken white males publicly shouted a vulgar racist chant at a black female student.

"We care very much when any of our students express concerns with safety or any aspect of their Duke experience," Moneta said in response to that allegation.

Officials said an investigation by campus police is underway to determine who may have hung the noose, and that if the perpetrator(s) are identified they will be held accountable.

Duke President Richard Brodhead told a large gathering of students Wednesday that their presence was a stern rejection of racism and a message to whoever hung the noose that racial hatred will not be tolerated on the Durham campus.

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"One person put up that noose, but this is the multitude of people who got together to say that's not the Duke we want," he told the crowd. "That's not the Duke we're here for, and that's not the Duke we're here to create."

Hundreds of faculty and students also participated in a rally by the Black Student Alliance intended to stand united against racism, WRAL-TV reported.

"Racism still does exist, as some people say, but this is such a diverse group of students that you would never think it would hit this close," student Kalia Johnson said.

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