Columbia University Professor Finds Noose On Office Door

Yet another noose incident has been reported. This time at Columbia University. It seems to me that we are going backwards. At least that is the direction that a few people want to take us in. When these incidents started to increase over the past year, I attributed it to the fact that reporters are paying more attention to these problems, and are therefore reporting more incidents....incidents that have always been taking place. But it now seems as if these incidents may be a real reflection of an increase in racial hatred and intolerance. The Jena Louisiana situation has raised tensions all over the Country. But I doubt if Jena alone could be responsible for a widening racial divide. Other factors must be at work. There are a lot of things that seem to be coming together all at once, which may explain part of the upsurge.... there is the war on terror...in which hardline Republicans have spooked their constituents into being afraid of anyone who speaks with an Arabic accent. There was the recent immigration debate...where many Americans trained themselves to be leery of any hispanic person and to be skeptical about their citizenship. We have a prominent African American candidate for President...who has been receiving threats. And we have a job market that is sending good paying jobs out and bringing labor in at the same time, from places like India & Mexico. (so there is this animosity about labor...centered around who is "taking" American jobs). A perfect storm? I'm not sure...but animosity seems to be growing. However, I believe that only a very small slice of Americans are actually involved in these kinds of activities. These kinds of tensions do seem to go up and down in cycles. I recall the Matthew Hale & Benjamin Nathaniel Smith cases from several years ago.

I guess we will never be entirely safe from these threats.

Black Columbia professor finds noose at office
BY DANIEL MASSEY

A black professor at Columbia University's Teachers College found a hangman's noose on her office door yesterday, an act that university officials immediately condemned and reported to police.

"The Teachers College community and I deplore this hateful act, which violates every Teachers College and societal norm," Susan Fuhrman, president of the college, said in a statement.

Fuhrman added that she and Provost Tom James will conduct a community forum on the incident today on the Manhattan campus.

The professor who was targeted, faculty and students said, has distinguished herself as a scholar in race relations. Neither police nor the college identified the 44-year-old professor.

"She's very passionate about social justice and equality," said Shawn Maxam, 26, of Brooklyn, who is studying music education and sociology education at Teachers College. "I'm not surprised or shocked. There are issues surrounding race and class at Teachers College."

Other students said they were hurt after learning of the incident.

"I'm shocked," said Nichole Henry, 23, who is studying to become a physical education teacher. "For a hate crime to go down at Teachers College, this is such a diverse school.

"I can't believe it. It's really disappointing. It hurts."

Nursing education professor Kathleen O'Connell called the incident "extremely distressing.

"This place does a lot of work on racial and diversity issues," she said.

Speaking of her colleague, O'Connell said, "She's a very productive faculty member, so that's just nuts."

Debbie Sonu, 31, a fourth-year doctoral student in urban education, said she was disappointed about the incident but encouraged by the school's swift response.

"It's a wake-up call," Sonu said.

She made reference to the case of the six black teenagers in Jena, La., who civil rights activists have said were treated unfairly by the local criminal justice system and prosecuted overzealously when fights along racial lines broke out at their school last year.

"Maybe we can't compare the context or geography," Sonu said. "But the bottom line of how we treat each other is comparable."

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