Racial tension has intensified at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) since a KKK-style hood was hung on a statue outside the campus library on March 1, and a noose was found hanging in the library on Feb. 25. A white pillowcase, which had been crudely fashioned into a hood with a hand-drawn symbol, was placed on a statue outside Geisel Library and a rose was inserted into the statue’s fingers, according to a statement from the Chancellor’s Office. Police are processing fingerprint and DNA evidence from the pillowcase. The Chancellor’s Office released a statement promising to punish the perpetrator “to the full extent of the Student Code of Conduct and all applicable laws.” A noose was seen hanging from a bookcase on the seventh floor of the library on Feb. 25. A female student, who identified herself as a minority, confessed to hanging the noose and gave a statement to UC police, which the department refused to release since the investigation is ongoing. Police described the incident as “hanging a noose with intent to terrorize.” The student, who has been suspended, claimed she did not hang the noose as an act of racism in an anonymous letter she wrote to the campus newspaper, The Guardian. A Guardian editor verified the letter writer’s authenticity. The student claims she found a small piece of rope on campus that her friend had tied into a noose. “I innocently marveled at his ability to tie a noose, without thinking of any of its connotations or the current racial climate at UCSD,” wrote the student in the letter. The student said she went to the library to study, where she began playing with the rope and “ended up hanging it by my desk,” the student wrote. “It was a mindless act and stupid mistake,” the student said. “When I got up to leave a couple hours later, I simply forgot about it. This was Tuesday night.” Campus police completed its investigation on March 2 and has handed the case over to the City Attorney’s Office. Campus police called the act “a possible hate crime.” Another UCSD student hosted an off-campus party to mock Black History Month on Feb. 27. The Facebook invitation announced a costume contest that awarded bonus points for “pimp smacking your ho,” wearing “booty shorts,” having a “ghetto body” and getting beaten by the police. The “Compton Cookout” off-campus party held Feb. 15 was the first to anger the community as the Facebook invitation told students to dress like outrageous black stereotypes. Students and faculty in the Ethnic Studies program likened the Compton Cookout to the blackface minstrel shows wherein whites showed power over blacks: “… events such as this one are marked celebrations of the play of power characteristic of whiteness in general and white minstrelsy in particular: the ability to move in and move out of a racially produced space at will; the capacity to embody a presumed deviance without actually ever becoming or being it; the privilege to revel in this raced and gendered alterity without ever having to question or encounter the systemic and epistemic violence that produces hierarchies of difference in the first place.” Black Student Union calls for changes Race relations have simmered under the surface for years before the “Compton Cookout” – an off-campus party held by UCSD students to poke fun at Black History Month – unleashed a torrent of protest across the campus. The Black Student Union (BSU) has called for “serious structural changes” to bolster the number of historically underrepresented groups on campus — namely African-Americans, Chicanos and Native Americans. “Individual behavior and attitudes are not the primary source of the problem,” wrote BSU co-chairs David Ritcherson and Fnann Keflezi in a statement. “It will not be enough to oppose racist speech with ‘more speech,’ with lessons about the limits of satire or even with well-intentioned but ultimately symbolic campaigns such as the proposed ‘Not in Our Community’ initiative. This incident, and the potential for others in the future, should convince campus policymakers that serious structural changes are long overdue.” BSU has issued the administration a list of 32 demands to support minority student retention, studies and causes. Among the demands, BSU has called on the university to fully fund and staff the African American Studies Minor, and to create an office to research the communities of color that are underrepresented at UCSD. The Chancellor’s Office indicated it would meet “nearly all” of BSU’s demands. This is not the first time black students have spoken out about the lack of diversity. Earlier this year, African Americans worked on a campaign called “Do UC us” that revealed many black students feel uncomfortable at UCSD. The campaign collected testimonies from many African-American students who said they felt uncomfortable on campus. “I am now entering into my fourth year at the university and I have to re-assert my presence to the entire campus on a daily basis simply because I am constantly looked at to represent the entire Black Community,” testified one student in the campaign’s report. “…the underlying issue is that I am constantly under surveillance no matter the scenario, from the classroom, to social atmospheres, faculty expectations, etc.” One part of the problem is that minority students don’t choose to attend UCSD when accepted, according to the 2007 Yield Report on minority students. Only 13 percent of the African-American students admitted accepted to attend UCSD in 2006, compared to 44 percent at University of California, Los Angeles. African-American students comprise less than 2 percent of the undergraduate student body at UCSD. The 2007 Yield report had called on the administration to do more to attract such students, and urged the Chancellor’s Office, Academic Affairs, the six colleges and various academic departments to get involved in the recruitment process.