Possible nooses on Stanford campus probed

Stanford University officials said Monday that two ropes with loops — possibly meant to represent nooses — were found in a tree on campus.

It wasn't clear whether the ropes were intended to look like nooses or whether they were part of an abandoned swing or rope ladder, but their presence on campus was being investigated by Stanford's Department of Public Safety, officials said.

The ropes, found near Campus Drive and Junipero Serra Boulevard beside the Lake Lagunita walking trail, were reported to administrators Monday morning, said Patrick Dunkley, vice provost for institutional equity, access and community, and Mona Hicks, senior associate vice provost and dean of students, in a statement to the Stanford community. However, the ropes appeared to have been attached to the tree for as long as two years based on the condition of the tree around them, the statement said.

A noose was found on Stanford's campus in the summer of 2019. Later that summer, someone put a whiteboard on campus “covered in scribblings that, among other things, crudely wished violence on cities in the Middle East and Asia,” university officials said in a statement at the time.

Stanford administrators faced backlash from students, including Stanford's student government, for their response to the finding of the noose two years ago, which critics said came too late and without important historical context. Administrators later apologized and said they needed to take steps to “address and confront racism and to empathize more effectively with the experiences of all members of our community,” according to the Stanford Daily.

“To be clear, a noose is a potent symbol of anti-Black racism and violence that is completely unacceptable under any circumstances,” officials said in Monday's statement. “We know this is a very difficult communication to receive, and could compound anger and disappointment you may be feeling knowing a noose was reported on campus in summer 2019 and given the discrimination experienced by many Black campus community members as shared in recent survey results.”

A recent poll of almost 15,000 Stanford students and employees showed that many people in the university's community face harassment and discrimination. Depending on the department, 30% to 60% of Stanford faculty said they had experienced harassment, discrimination or microaggressions, according to survey results released this month.

Dunkley and Hicks said the university was alerting students to the finding of the ropes “so that everyone is informed as we move forward together as a community committed to calling out and addressing racism.”

Anyone with information about the ropes is asked to call the Department of Public Safety at 650-723-9633 or 650329-2413.