Join our editorial board by applying here or become a columnist at the Spectator by clicking here.
No Suspects Yet in Noose Incident
PUBLISHED OCTOBER 11, 2007
As hundreds of students, professors, and city leaders gathered Wednesday to protest the hanging of a noose on the office door of an African American Teachers College professor, police said that there were no suspects yet in the criminal investigation of the incident.
Officials said Wednesday that they were considering the incident aggravated harassment as a hate crime. Investigators reported that the noose had not been on the door of Professor Madonna Constantine’s office as late as 11:30 p.m. Monday night and that it was found on Tuesday by one of Constantine’s female colleagues, who reported it to the police. The NYPD, which noted that this was the first noose case in at least five years, said officials are interviewing all of professors in Constantine’s department.
Meanwhile, Columbia’s campus continued to react to the event. At an afternoon rally outside of Teachers College, Constantine made her first public appearance since the hate crime was perpetrated. As Constantine exited Zankel Hall, the crowd exploded with cheers.
Constantine thanked those present for the “overwhelming support” for her in light of the “heinous and highly upsetting incident.”
“I would like us to stay strong,” Constantine said. “I would like the perpetrator to know that I will not be silent. Hanging a noose on my door reeks of cowardice on many, many levels.”
Teachers College students held signs and chanted within police barriers on 120th Street. After a prayer and a moment of silence, the students marched around Columbia’s campus and the surrounding streets chanting.
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and New York state senator Bill Perkins spoke out from Zankel’s steps. Perkins discussed the symbolism of the noose, adding that he was troubled that someone with a CUID and knowledge of TC’s labyrinthine halls perpetrated the incident. “It’s as if a burning cross was placed on the campus of Columbia University,” he said. “This sounds like an inside job.”
While top TC administrators—including TC President Susan Fuhrman and Provost Thomas James—were present, Columbia University representatives were not. “Where is Bollinger? Where is Bollinger?” one protester chanted.
Bollinger, meanwhile, was at a meeting with a number of student leaders— chiefly representing cultural groups—where students grilled him on his handling of the incident and voiced sentiments that Columbia’s campus was hostile towards students of color. While Bollinger said he offered his support to Teachers College, he emphasized that it was a separate institution from Columbia.
The Chaplain’s Office and the University Provost have scheduled a common meal in response to the TC hate crime for Thursday at 6 p.m. in Earl Hall.
Tom Faure and Josh Hirschland contributed to this article.
Article Tools:
View Comments ( 34)
Post a Comment
Mannnnn I am really shocked at what people are willing to post on here
Funny how people who hate "white supremacy" flock to the West, isn't it?
I AM SO SICK OF WHITES BEING BULLIED INTO SELF-HATRED AND GUILT. Take your big words and shove them up whatever color your ass is.
As students of human behavior, do we not all wish to be further enlightened as to, for example, how certain people inhabit social space? My understanding of white supremacy did not come from any class I took, any professor who ever spoke to me, nor from textbooks. It is a fact, and incidents like the recent one at TC demonstrate *not* that whites are "being bullied into self-hatred and guilt" as you have suggested, but rather that white supremacy is alive and well.
Pedagogy for whites on white supremacy is precisely designed to steer them away from guilt and self-hatred and towards a more fuller understanding of how they can be better citizens in a civil society. Is the latter not a goal towards which you, as a thinking person, wish to move?
The crucial mistake to avoid is to think that white supremacy is synonymous with racism. The noose on the door of the professor is a vile, racist act. White supremacy is a massive, structural edifice that has come into being over at least six-hundred years of whites positioned in a way that is advantageous to their lives while blacks are invariably situated below. Both blacks and whites (and Asians, Latina/os) are have been damaged by white supremacy. No one has been *victimized*
In many ways, it is as simple as this: Can you imagine your life (lives) existing without impediments; that you could just live your life "at will"; that you could go anywhere in the world and be greeted with warmth and trust by others? Why these questions? The answer is simple: because you are white.
This is not something about which anyone would expect you to feel guilt or self-hatred. It is simply a broadening of your world view.
I think that what you've called the civil rights movement, although
it is an acceptable term, it might clarify matters if one thought
of it as, in fact, a slave insurrection. When one thinks of it in this
way, one is prevented from descending into despair.
-James Baldwin
So many of the above comments indicate to me that Columbia must take the initiative and require classes in which white students are taught about global white supremacy and their own white privilege. Perhaps then other institutions can also get the filthy heart of what gives rise to the "noose incident".
An earlier post was correct in pointing out that these kind of racist acts alongside daily, 'ordinary' racism are profoundly entrenched in a culture of white supremacy in which we all unfortunately dwell. The standard liberal hand-wringing about 'diversity'
classes' is an empty gesture, I'm afraid.
'Diversity' suggests to white people that they should tolerate the racialized other, which implies that that other is *intolerable* to begin with: bureaucratic
multiculturalism of the worst.
Pedagogy is needed which demonstrates, to students who identify as white, the reality of how white speech and white acts reinforce white privilege despite the fact that a white person may not be in the least bit aware of having made a racist statement. When whites say something that offends, they are buttressed by state + institutionalized power which, again, they may be unaware of. None of this is "anti-white" and it is certainly not racist. A black person, for example, can commit an act or make a statement, but they do not have a massive socio-cultural edifice underwriting their statements or actions.
Many people react to workshops I've suggested above with a great deal of rage and resentment. But this is the way to truly, finally begin to eradicate white supremacy and chip away at what white privilege allows white people to do and say and get away with. Think of white privilege/supremacy as a chronic, though learned, condition. It is transmitted in familial/social/economic ways, through families, through institutions like Columbia---and that transmission is silent and invisible. White privilege/supremacy is only becoming more deeply ingrained in the US zeitgeist. If not dealt with soon, it will require invasive surgery.
Anonymous white recipient of an M.A. & Ph.D in African Diaspora Studies
I think that what you've called the civil rights movement, although
it is an acceptable term, it might clarify matters if one thought
of it as, in fact, a slave insurrection. When one thinks of it in this
way, one is prevented from descending into despair
-James Baldwin
Anonymous white recipient of an M.A. & Ph.D in African Diaspora Studies
Holy shit, some schools award a Ph.D. in African Diaspora Studies? That is so awesome! Is is possible to specialize a bit more and still earn such a degree? I'd really like to study the role of LGBT culture within the context of African Diaspora Studies.
I have a cousin who is getting a Ph.D. in Mathematical Physics, but all she does is study, study, study -- she never has time to get involved with wider issues, e.g. protests ...
If your tone was not sarcastic, my first response would be to say that LGBT/Queer issues in African Diaspora are not as well researched as they could be. But to imagine that Black Studies is a narrow, minoritarian field could not be more incorrect. I studied very hard for 3 1/2 years and took grad courses in History, English, Sociology, Philosophy, Education, Psychology, Art History, and so on. I was not at protests, I was in the library.
The requirements were exacting and exhausting, far more so than some other doctoral programs at the Ivy League institution to which I am referring. With the exception of women's/gender studies, I cannot think of a more rigorous field in the humanities/social sciences than black studies.
Add to that me and my colleagues get such a degree in order to create social change,
not to find a job that pays 70K a year, though that sounds a bit self righteous.
OMG, I can't believe you thought I was being sarcastic. I think most people recognize that women's/gender studies and black studies are among the most rigorous fields.
Who ever did this "rope trick".....is a MEDIA-WHORE of the first magnitude....without a doubt !
Look, we don't know who did it. It is sort of interesting that the U won't turn the securityb tape over to the police, though. It is not unusual for the hateful noose thing to be done by racists. It is also not unusual for the incidents to be staged by the "victim". Time will. Lesson of Duke Lacrosse is that rushing to judgment for either side is unwise.
SHe did it so that the anti-whites that make up the majority of your campus can go on a crusade and pressure the administration to fund more 'diversity' classes (anti-white training) and maybe a 'kill whitey' museum. Nothing more, nothing less. It's the Duke LaCrosse case all over again.
LOL! Um..the Duke LaCrosse players HIRED that stripper..nobody forced them to have a drunken party with strippers (who we all know are so morally upright to begin with) and most of those players have a history of getting into trouble. Please stop with the pity card, it's not working.
Our school is not anti-white..it's over 80% white...are you saying the white people at Columbia hate THEMSELVES???
Some do hate themselves, others are so wrapped up in guilt over what their ancestors did to minorities that will believe any accusation hurl at whites.
It's not about pity for the Duke players is about being accused of a hideous crime that you did not commit. yes they hired the stripper and got into trouble as college jocks tend to do everywhere, but they did not rape anyone and if not for the incredibly stupid "victim" that couldn't keep her story straight, they might be facing jail time.
Right...because recieving death threats and being possibly stalked is such a great benefit to her.
In Nod to Free Speech, Columbia University's Lee C. Bollinger to Invite 'Noose' Culprit to Speak
Students, faculty and administrators of Columbia University are alarmed that someone hung a noose on the door of a respected African-American professor, Madonna Constantine. Police are treating the incident as a hate crime.
Lee C. Bollinger, president of the University, asked his staff to aid in the investigation, so that he could invite the perpetrator to speak on campus and explain his hateful message and actions in an academic setting.
"Since Hitler is no longer available and Ahmadinejad has already spoken, I want our students to have the chance to hear from this scummy scoundrel," Bollinger said in a news release.
Bollinger further promised that he'd give the nooseman a public dressing down before providing him an open forum to spout his message of hate.
While Professor Constantine told news outlets covering the story that she found the incident "very personal and very degrading," Bollinger said the feelings of all victims matter not. "What counts," Bollinger said, "is that in America, everyone from the corner grocer to the corner cannibal has his or her opportunity to besmirch the reputation of our campus."
Leave Bollinger out of this. Its SIPA who invited the head of state from Iran as part of their commitment to engage in international affairs no matter how controversial. SIPA is one of the foremost leaders in US -Iran relations and this is what an educational institution does - to keep all doors open for dialog and inquiry.
It takes a lot of balls for Bollinger to support the educational objectives of colleges such as SIPA. I rather be in a college that affords me the opportunity rather than one who censors.
I wish Columbia could be like Harvard where they actually made the most out of their education by inviting the former Iranian president two years ago, regardless of their disgust and blatant differences.
"Why would someone engineer a hate crime that will bring tons of death threats and hate mail for years to come to her door"
----------------------------------------------------------------
Because it's happened a million times before. And no amount of whining on your part will make it 'racist' to point it out.
Beg pardon but.....why would a self engineered hate crime l bring tons of death threats and hate mail for years to come? I mean wouldn't her hand get tired of writting so many threats and the stamps.....so many stamps to lick.....yuck.
Beg pardon but.....why would a self engineered hate crime bring tons of death threats and hate mail for years to come ? I mean wouldn't her hand get tired and quite frankly....all those stamps to lick.......yuck.
Interesting how no one can actually name these "millions" of cases where people of color engineer racist incidents to engender sympathy, and yet there probably are *actually* a million cases of racist violence in the tarnished history of this country. Professor Constantine was a symbol of courage and dignity yestererday when she spoke, and deserves the utmost respect of the members of this University community. Shame on the cynical, deceitful mentality that prefers to even lay the blame of racism on on people of color or on the very people whose entire lifework is devoted to the cause of anti-racism.
"...Shame on the cynical, deceitful mentality that prefers to even lay the blame of racism on on people of color or on the very people whose entire lifework is devoted to the cause of anti-racism."
Constantine's lifework appears to have been devoted to the cause of her academic career and the pursuit of petty lawsuits against her colleagues.
She could still had orchestrated the whole thing no matter how great a symbol of courage she was. Maybe she is working on a new book about being a victim of these types of crimes. That this happened at a place like Columbia is also a good reason to think that she might be involved. If she can convinced all of you that even in a place like Columbia these things are happening and she happens to be an expert on the subject too, how convenient!! STOP BEING SO NAIVE!!! No one is saying she did it, but that there is that possibility.
"Interesting how no one can actually name these "millions" of cases where people of color engineer racist incidents to engender sympathy"
Really. Tawana Brawley for one.
Google hate +crime +hoax and you will get 1.5 million hits.
The list is long.
And no amount of coming up with empty accusations and denials will make your silly suggestion true until the investigation is over : )
That's a great response and so typical of people who like to pretend racism is non existent..deny deny deny....it's easier than being mature and dealing with the issue.
Why would someone engineer a hate crime that will bring tons of death threats and hate mail for years to come to her door. Racists like yourself are coming out of the woodwork to assail her in letters, emails, and they will probably find out where she lives and she will always have to look over her shoulders. You're really dense if you think anyone would ask for this type of attention in her field.
Don't be so naive. She does has a lot to gain from all of the attention, even if she gets exposed to hate mail and emails from true racists. She could have done this thinking that the pain it will cause will be temporary compare to the recognition she will received and the career boost she'll get.
Bad journalism, bad headline: It's not true there are no suspects. On posts everywhere across the country and in countless private campus conversations Constantine herself is the hands-down favorite for having done this "noose crime."
To assume the she is not "a person of interest" to the NYPD right now just because they have not used those words is criminally bad reporting.
Constantine: “I would like the perpetrator to know that I will not be silent..." How ironic will it be if exercises her right to remain silent if and when whe is arrested?
Remove this post if you will, I feel strongly that she did it herself. One look at the photograph in today's NY Times reveals a woman in ecstacy. She loves this. I believe she engineered it. Time will tell, hopefully.
I think the problem is not one of poor journalism; it's that you're a racist fucktard. Just a theory, though.
This is precisely the response one has to take to people who are racists *by default* They must be called out and ridiculed. I could only laugh, to stop from crying, at those who think that professor who found the noose on her door, who was the target. (I did not say 'victim'--she is no victim, she is an agent who is courageously responding to this kind of racist attempt at intimidation)
I imagine that most people in this dialogue are aware of the 'simple' fact that black people do not have the structural power in the US to be racists. In order to be a racist,
one must have the tacit endorsement of the white supremacist culture in which we live. Black people do not possess the structural + institutional power to be racists.
Please keep this in mind before you mistakenly accuse black people of being racists.
They can't be, whether they are the annoying, but poorly read, neo-con, John McWhorter or the Afrocentrist Leonard Jeffries.
I think that what you've called the civil rights movement, although
it is an acceptable term, it might clarify matters if one thought
of it as, in fact, a slave insurrection. When one thinks of it in this
way, one is prevented from descending into despair
-James Baldwin
Black people are racist all the time. Racism can't be fought with racism.
you the racist, you big potty mouth!
Thanks for your level of dialog and contribution, "anonymous." It looks like the Ivy League Affirmative Action programs are really paying off. Glad to know all that SSI money went to a good cause. Hope you enjoyed all your school lunch program chow.
It would wrong to actually accuse the professor.
However, the list of those who could have done this could be narrowed
down by using the monitoring tape of the entrance to the bldg.
But... the prof. should NOT be eliminated at a possibility either.
she did not appear to look traumatized.
she would benefit from this attention.
IF SHE DID THIS -- this s/b considered a HC of the highest magnitude.
Post new comment