Duke finds person responsible for hanging noose on campus

DURHAM, N.C. -- Investigators have located and identified the individual responsible for hanging a noose on the campus of Duke University.

A Duke student admitted placing the noose on a tree, university officials said. A statement from Duke said the student is "no longer on campus" and will be subject to the schools student conduct process.

The identity of the student is being withheld in compliance with federal student privacy regulations. Officials are continuing their investigation to find out if others were involved.

The noose was discovered around 2 a.m. Wednesday and almost immediately struck a chord of tension across the Durham N.C. campus. About 300 students marched to condemn the violent symbol of racism.

"Without dialogue and without having the knowledge, the ignorance that happens here on campus will prevail, National Pan-Hellenic Council president Jason Ross said.

Addressing the student population, Duke president Richard Brodhead rejected the violent hate symbol.

"One person put up that noose, but this is the multitude of people who got together to say that's not the Duke we want," he told the crowd. "That's not the Duke we're here for, and that's not the Duke we're here to create."

Photos of the noose were published by an anonymous student group called The Duke People of Color Caucus.

The group was formed in response to another incident two weeks ago when a black female student claimed she was taunted with the same racist chant made infamous by fraternity brothers at the University of Oklahoma.

On its Tumblr page, the group called their university "a hostile environment for any and all black people."