UC San Diego protests continue


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A UC San Diego student, whose name has not been released and whose motive is unidentified, has been suspended from the university after admitting Friday to hanging a rope noose from a bookcase in the campus’ main library.

If done with “intent to terrorize,” hanging a noose is considered a misdemeanor under state law.

If convicted, the student could face up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine.

UC San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox condemned the incident at an on-campus protest rally.

Students angered by the incident stormed Fox’s office after the rally, occupying it for about six hours. They claimed that recent events have proved that the campus is hostile to African-Americans, noting that just 1.6% of the university’s undergraduate body is made up of blacks, according to the LA Times.

The student responsible for the noose has apologized, according to the Los Angeles Times. She said the act was not meant to be malicious.

The university, however, is continuing its investigation.

“Whatever the intent of the authors of this act, it was a despicable expression of racial hatred, and we are outraged. 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,” UC President Mark G. Yudof and Board of Regents Chairman Russell Gould said in a statement that also promised punishment, according to the Times.