USF students seeking changes after noose found outside dorm
University of San Francisco officials are investigating after a noose was found hanging off the balcony of a student dormitory last month.
The noose, a historical symbol of America’s racist history of lynchings of Black people, was found hanging off the fourthfloor balcony of the university’s Loyola Village housing complex March 30, USF Black Student Union President Brianna Johnson wrote in an open letter published by the San Francisco Bay View National Black Newspaper.
“This is a violent and dangerous act that students were not made aware of until the morning of the following day,” Johnson wrote. A picture attached to the letter shows a rope with one end wrapped several times around the balcony’s railing, and the other end looped into the shape of a noose.
A representative from the Black Student Union could not be reached for comment Wednesday. A USF spokesperson told The Chronicle on Wednesday that a student admitted to placing the noose on the balcony when interviewed by the university’s public safety officers.
Johnson’s letter included four demands to the university, including that USF name the student who made the noose, expel the student from the university, communicate instances of hate crimes through a universitywide emergency notifica
tion system and proactively facilitate wellness checks for students who might have been emotionally affected by the incident.
If the university does not release the name of the student responsible for the noose, Johnson said other students would
“take matters into their own hands” and release the name themselves.
In a response published online, USF President Rev. Paul J. Fitzgerald and Interim Provost Tyrone H. Cannon said they understand the urgency of the Black Student Union’s demands.
“We understand that there is a sense of anxiety and fear in our community,” Fitzgerald and Cannon wrote. “Many people feel that if we release the name of the student, then they would be better protected.”
But university officials declined to release the student’s name, citing an active investigation and privacy protections. Fitzgerald and Cannon said they would take “immediate action” on the BSU’s demand regarding the notification system, and that the university “is reviewing current communication practices and protocols related to our response to bias incidents and harmful incidents.”
“We understand that we need to continue our work to earn your trust and confidence,” the university’s response said. “We are hopeful that the work ahead promotes healing and a clear path forward for us all.”