UCSD student apologizes for noose; rallies planned for Thursday

A student who says she hung a noose in the library at UCSD has apologized in a letter published in the UCSD Guardian, a student-run newspaper.

“I know what I did was offensive — regardless of my intentions — I am trying to say I’m sorry,’’ the student wrote in an unsigned 10-paragraph letter.

As the campus seemed to remain calm on Monday, activities are being planned for Thursday by UCSD Coalition for Educational Justice surrounding “National Day of Action to Defend Public Education.” A press release noted that the day’s events “will focus on tuition increases, the UC budget crisis and the aftermath of the recent racial emergency at UCSD.”

They have a planned march on campus at UCSD, a rally at the Geisel Library and a protest walk that is supposed to start at Balboa Park and end at the state building on Front Street.

In a note to readers, the Guardian said it had verified the authenticity of the letter. Campus authorities said details in the letter are consistent with what they know about the recent incident, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

Also on Monday, a university official said the campus was calm and talks with black student leaders and others were continuing.

The activities come in the wake of the discover of the noose on Thursday, less than two weeks after an off- campus party dubbed the “Compton Cookout” was held during Black History Month.

Organizers of the party urged attendees to dress “ghetto” and advertised that they would serve chicken, watermelon and malt liquor, enraging university officials, members of the student body and the community.

University officials have refused to name the student suspected of hanging the noose or the students suspected of hosting the party. The student who came forward last Friday, saying she hung the noose, was suspended pending further investigation.

In her letter, the student wrote that a friend tied the noose and she played with it, eventually leaving it behind by accident in the library after a couple hours of studying.

Several race-related protests have taken place on campus since the Compton Cookout. A third incident in recent weeks involved Koala TV, a student-run TV station intentionally laced with provocative and derogatory language directed at African-American students.

Chancellor Marye Anne Fox condemns the racial incidents in a video posted on UCSD’s “Battle Against Hate” website created to address the school’s concerns on the issue. Video courtesy UCSD.