Stanford administrators unsure whether old ropes are nooses, but send campus-wide email anyway

Stanford University administrators sent a campus-wide email regarding two ropes with loops discovered in a tree along a walking trail — even though there was no indication that the ropes were hung due to racist intent.

As reported by The Stanford Daily, the Stanford University Department of Public Safety believes that the ropes had been present for up to two years. However, Vice Provost for Institutional Equity, Access and Community Patrick Dunkley and Senior Associate Vice Provost and Dean of Students Mona Hicks informed students that “a noose is a potent symbol of anti-Black racism and violence that is completely unacceptable under any circumstances.”

The Stanford Review — a conservative student publication — added that administrators offered “mental health resources” to students coping with the discovery.

[RELATED: University calls for removal of construction equipment some deemed a racist symbol]

“This information is being shared with you so that everyone is informed as we move forward together as a community committed to calling out and addressing racism,” the email reportedly concluded.

“Calling out and addressing racism? No, these Stanford administrators are committed to inventing racism,” Stanford Review’s Maxwell Meyer wrote Nov. 29. 

[RELATED: UMN student claims officers racially profiled him. Police come back with the receipts.]

This is not the first time an American university has acted on dubiously verified information.

In April, an anonymous Instagram account claimed that Black students at Adelphi University had been the recipients of lynching threats. Although the university sent two warnings to the student body, local police found no evidence that the threats were real.

Campus Reform reached out to Stanford University for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.