Campus Hate Crime Could Go Unpunished

Two weeks after black students were greeted by a three-foot noose hanging from a tree at the University of Maryland, it looks like the crime will go unpunished.

University President C. D. Mote Jr. says there are STILL no suspects, despite numerous police interviews and reviewing hundreds of hours of security video.

As classes resumed at the university earlier this month, the racist symbol was found on a tree near the Nyumburu Cultural Center, home to the Black Faculty and Staff Association. The center (which is Swahili for "freedom house") is a gathering place for minority students.

The timing of this makes you wonder if the hanging rope is a copycat of the three nooses hung on a Louisiana high school campus last year that sparked the Jena 6 case, which only recently gained national media attention. Or is it proof that the days of "Strange Fruit" and the racist "hang-em-high" mentality remains alive and well from Maryland to the South?

The potent lynching symbol shocked students and faculty who say their campus is not known for racial tension. On Tuesday, students held a speak-out against racism and the incident. That's great, but will the police catch those responsible for this?

Our Lens Sept. 1

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People standing near the grave of Senator Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY) look at the grave of Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) at Arlington National Cemetery August 30, in Arlington, Virginia. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA) was buried yesterday next to his brothers President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy (D-NY) after he died of brain cancer on August 25.

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US President Barack Obama takes out his daughters Malia (R) and Sasha (2nd L) and niece Suhaila Ng (L) to shop in the Alleys general store on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, on August 30, 2009.

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