As Americans, How Far Have We Come?

The discovery of a noose found hanging in the University of California, San Diego library prompted police Friday to open a hate-crime investigation and outraged students to storm the chancellor's office. Authorities received reports about 10:30 p.m. Thursday about the rope noose suspended from a light fixture on the seventh floor of the Geisel Library, according to a bulletin released by the UCSD Police Department. No one reported seeing the noose being placed in the area, which is next to an aisle and west-facing windows, officials said. Friday morning, however, a student came forward and admitted that she had put the knotted rope in the library, campus spokesman Rex Graham said. There was no immediate word on whether she had been arrested, though the incident was being investigated as a hate crime and an act committed "with intent to terrorize," Graham said.

At an afternoon news conference, UCSD Chancellor Marye Anne Fox said the student has been suspended. "We will not tolerate hate on our campus, and all criminal acts will be punished," Fox said." I strongly condemn the offensive acts of hate and bias that have occurred over the past days," she added. "It is deplorable that while our students, faculty and staff work to heal the campus, a few misguided individuals tried to divide it." In a statement, UC President Mark Yudof said a full investigation was under way and that "appalling acts of this sort cannot go unpunished." "Whatever the intent of the authors of this act, it was a despicable expression of racial hatred, and we are outraged," Yudof said. "It has no place in civilized society and it will not be tolerated -- not on this particular campus, not on any University of California campus."

Around midday, students angry about the incident and other recent racially charged occurrences at the La Jolla-area university marched on Fox's office and entered, chanting "Real pain, real change!" as some of them played drums. The racial concerns on campus stemmed from a Presidents' Day party that was intended to mock Black History Month. Called the "Compton Cookout," the event encouraged attendees to dress and act in a manner that school officials say perpetuated racist stereotypes. An invitation on Facebook urged female participants to dress as "ghetto chicks" and said fried chicken, watermelon and malt liquor would be served at the party. The situation was inflamed several days later when racially insensitive language was reportedly used on a student-run television program called KoalaTV during a discussion about the party. Utsav Gupta, president of the UCSD Associated Students, described the program as "deeply offensive and hurtful" and cut funding to all fee-supported student-run media organizations pending a review. Associated Students also revoked the charter for the student-run television station.

UCSD administrators have condemned the racially themed party and said in a statement they are investigating the incidents for violations of the student code of conduct. On Wednesday, thousands of students and administrators attended a "teach-in" at the campus held to address the ghetto-themed party and the racial unrest it sparked on campus, but the event was disrupted when the bulk of students in attendance walked out. About an hour into the event at the university's student center, two female students with the Black Student Union stood up and condemned it, with one saying, "The university and our community will not be fixed by a two-hour teach-in." Saying the university was doing little to address racism on campus, the pair urged their fellow students in the packed auditorium and overflow room to march out of the event, and the vast majority complied. The students filed out of the auditorium, loudly chanting "Whose university? Our university!" The students then gathered en masse outside the auditorium, continuing to chant. Members of the Black Student Union work black T-shirts with the slogan "Real Pain Real Action." About 3,000 people gathered at the teach-in and resulting demonstration -- with whites making up about half of the crowd. About 2 percent of UCSD's students are black. Fox said the university has created a task force to try and attract more minority faculty. A commission has also been formed to boost the number of black students who enroll." I am committed to rebuilding our campus community and I hope we can work together to make this a university known not only for its exceptional education and research, but also a diverse university known for its respectful, open and welcoming environment," she said.

Timeline Of Events From UCSD: On Monday, Feb. 15, an off-campus party was held named the “Compton Cookout,” where UC San Diego students participated in are producing racist, classist and misogynistic stereotypes of the black community and intentionally organized this party to mock the ongoing celebrations of Black History Month. The “Compton Cookout” and the two other “private” parties that were planned for the following weekend involved hundreds of UCSD students, which were framed as an expression of contempt for Black History Month and the free use of hate speech. On Thursday, Feb. 18, between the hours of 11 p.m. and midnight a group of students on the UCSD Student Run Television Program (SR-TV) made statements in support of the “Compton Cookout” party, by stating racial epithets targeted towards the black community and expressed the support for such hate speech. On Friday, Feb. 19, a piece of cardboard was found at the UCSD SR-TV office stating “Compton Lynching”, which posed as a direct threat to the black student population at UCSD. The same weekend that these parties occurred, UCSD’s Black Student Union (BSU) and Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) hosted their annual joint high school conference, where hundreds of high school students came together from all over south California to empower students through educational workshops, caucus spaces and influential speakers to ensure that there are safe spaces for students of color on this campus. The undergraduate black student population at UCSD has never reached above 3 percent since its founding in 1960. This past fall 2009, only 1.3 percent of the 4000 plus undergraduate students admitted to UCSD were black students. Black students currently represent less than 2 percent of the undergraduate population here at UCSD, a percentage that is scarcely better than the 1 percent representation of black people among faculty and academic professionals.