Campus responds to noose in Jewett

Chloe McConnell Guest Writer

On Thursday, Oct. 25, a Residential Operations Center attendant found the drawstring cord of a window shade on the sixth floor of Jewett House fashioned as a noose. The Campus Response team and Security removed the noose and investigated the situation. So far, the investigation has been inconclusive and no allegations have been made.

Jewett House President Alexandria Dempsey ’09 helped with her dorm’s response. “From what I understand, the noose has been there for at least two years, and no one had said anything until now,”said Dempsey. “We do not know if someone made the noose as an act of racism, as a sign of suicide or self harm or if it was simply someone fiddling with the window string. Although intent has a large influence on how we interpret what happened, we have to understand that the impact it has had on students has been quite large.”

The hangman’s noose has long been one of the most evocative representations of racism in America, a reminder that thousands of African Americans died at the hands of lynch mobs from the end of the Civil War well into the 20th century.

On Friday, Oct. 26, President Catharine Bond Hill sent an e-mail to the student body that read, “Let me take this opportunity to urge everyone, especially in the midst of Halloween, to be aware and considerate of how our use of images and the meanings of our words, expressions and actions can affect our individual and collective sense of community.”

Nooses have recently been used as symbols of racial attacks at other educational institutions around the country. At Jena High School in Louisiana, three white students hung nooses on the “white tree,” informally designated as a gathering place for white students, after an African American student asked to sit underneath it. Six African American teenagers were accused of beating a white teenager soon after the event. The charges brought against the teenagers sparked protests across the country, as supporters believed the arrests to be racially discriminatory. On the Vassar campus, Hip Hop 101 raised awareness of the Jena 6 through an open-mic event.

At Columbia University’s Teachers College, a noose was placed on the doorknob of an African American professor’s office, and student protests ensued. At Canarsie High School in Brooklyn, the school’s principal received a noose accompanied by a racially charged letter.

“Several students have communicated discomfort in the dorm due to any possible racist intentions, and because of this, we wanted to act immediately,” said Dempsey. “This is our home, and we want to make it a safe place. No one should feel unsafe in their home: It is simply not right.”

In response to the incident in Jewett, the Office of Residential Life and the Jewett house team planned a mandatory all-house meeting on Sunday. Faculty members such as Jewett House Fellow and Assistant Professor of English Eve Dunbar and Dean of the College Judy Jackson also attended. The meeting included an open forum for discussion and education regarding the unacceptability of prejudice and the importance of addressing issues as a community. The topics of the discussion included student and faculty perspectives on racism and suicide.

“The conversation became quite emotional for several students, as the topics discussed are sensitive issues,” said Dempsey. “We wanted to get people talking about this situation, and we accomplished that.”

Jewett Resident Rachel Pick ’10 said she felt everyone at the meeting was wary of fully discussing the most pressing issues. “I was very disappointed by how carefully the contributing students avoided broaching the subject of race,” she said.

Following the meeting, Jewett hosted an informal “Unity Jam” open to the entire campus—the overriding theme of the event was, “Not In Our House…Not On Our Campus!”—during which students expressed their reactions to the noose by writing their thoughts on poster boards. These included: “I feel confused and afraid,” “I’m frustrated that this happened” and “I’m angry when people avoid discussion of race for any reason.”

On Monday, the Jewett house team tabled in the College Center to distribute stickers. “This is not just a dorm issue, but a campus issue,” said Dempsey, while relating it to previous incidents on the Vassar campus concerning racially intimidating symbols. These include three incidents of swastikas being drawn on the walls of dorms: in Lathrop House in 2005, in Raymond House in 2006 and in Main Building last year. Each incident sparked animated responses from students who organized events to discuss the hate graffiti.

Associate Director for Campus Life and the African American/Black, Latino, Asian/Asian American, Native American (ALANA) Center Greta Franklin was pleased that the entire community was being included in discussions. “The key to addressing the emotions, thoughts, perceptions and symbolic messages that a noose invokes is to address them as an institution,” she said.
“The ALANA Center, which is a part of the Campus Life Office, will work in conjunction with other offices and departments to develop dialogues and programs that will continue to support, assist and educate the Vassar campus community about this difficult issue.”

“Images of hate have no place on our campus,” said Hill. “This incident is confusing in part because of what we don’t know. Understanding intent would clearly make a response easier, but Vassar must work against even the ignorance of, or insensitivity to, the significance of such an image to members of our community.”