UMD College Park Police Investigate Hate Incident
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- University of Maryland, College Park police are investigating a noose found in a fraternity house as a hate incident.
Police say the noose was found around 1:30 p.m. Friday in Fraternity Row's house 5, which is home to its Phi Kappa Tau chapter, according to the school's website.
UMD President Wallace Loh called the incident "despicable" in a statement Wednesday:
This incident is despicable. A thorough UMPD investigation is underway. I resolutely condemn the use of a symbol of violence and hatred for the purpose of intimidating members of our University of Maryland community. All of us--students, faculty, staff, alumni--stand united in our commitment to core values of human dignity, diversity, inclusiveness, and intellectual freedom. We stand against such craven expressions of bigotry.
This comes days after a similar incident at American University.
RELATED: FBI Investigating American University Hate Crime
Someone placed bananas on nooses around campus, and wrote "AKA" on at least one of them, an apparent reference to Alpha Kappa Alpha, an African American sorority.
The FBI is investigating the racial incident at American University and campus police are offering a $1,000 reward.
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