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 The noose 
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Hey guys. I was wondering what was your reaction to that email that Chancellor Peacock sent out about them finding a noose in one of the buildings on campus. Ironic that it happens now, when we're talking about race and after seeing all those lynching pictures...

Personally, it really surprised me. I guess it's one of those, "I never thought it could happen here" things. I'm glad it's nothing "worse" than just a noose, but it really feels like campus safety has been threatened lately. I haven't heard anyone talking about it either.

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Megan Van Hoy


Thu Mar 20, 2008 8:18 am
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Maybe many of you already received this e-mail but they sent it to me about 40 minutes before the first session... really helpful... thanks Appalachian. Anyway there is one today too during class. Here it is.

Dear Student,

As you are now aware, there has been a noose incident at Appalachian.
Such an occurrence affects our entire campus community. Some of you
might want and need time and space to talk about the impact the
knowledge of this incident is having on you. We have been able to
arrange two open sessions that you can attend to share what you are
feeling.

The first will be held today, Wednesday, March 19, 2008 from 4:00--6:00
p. m. in the New River Room of Plemmons Student Union. A second open
session will be held tomorrow, Thursday, March 20, 2008 from 2:00 --
4:00 p. m. in the Multicultural Center of the Plemmons Student Union.
If you choose to come, you do not have to stay for the entire period.
These sessions will be facilitated by the Assistant Vice Chancellor for
Student Development for Diversity, along with members of the
Multicultural Student Development and Counseling and Psychological
Services Staff.

We recognize that some individuals will prefer talking one on one about
the impact that this situation has had on you. Below you will find a
list of offices that you can contact to hold a private conversation.

* The Office of Equity, Diversity and Compliance
828-262-2144

* The Dean of Students, Ms. Susie Greene
828-262-2060

* The Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Development for
Diversity, Ms. Tracey Wright
828-262-2060

* The Office of Counseling and Psychological Services for students
828-262-3180

* The Office of Multicultural Student Development
828-262-6252

For more information about the open sessions, please contact Tracey
Wright at 828-262-2060 or at wrighttl@appstate.edu

Lynn Drury should be contacted at 828-262-2346 regarding any specific
questions about the noose incident.

Sincerely,
Tracey L. Wright
Assistant Vice Chancellor,
Student Development for Diversity

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"A smile is a curve that sets everything straight."


Thu Mar 20, 2008 11:22 am
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I think people do things like this just to see the reaction it gets. I don't believe there is any real danger other than the mass panic the sorts of things create. To sum it up, it's terrorism and the people at the center of it should be punished.

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Hoy Colson
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Thu Mar 20, 2008 12:50 pm
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I have to agree with Megan on the "I didn't think that it could happen here" which is what I also thought about the "shooter." I also agree with Hoy that it probably is a scare tactic, but for anyone to still be thinking anything remotely that hateful/prejudiced is NOT something to be taken lightly. After seeing the photos of the hangings that were used as post-cards and seeing that not only African-Americans were at the mercy of these people, it really makes you stop and think about what humans are capable of doing. That same thought goes for how unwilling it seems that we are to speak out against prejudice because we are not willing to stand up for what we believe.

So after my digression, it just worries me because I would hope that our species could evolve past such thoughts.


Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:21 pm
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As you were Megan, the incident totally surprised me. I know we are still in the South and racist thoughts are still alive, but i had always felt like Boone was just a different place where things like this did not happen. I always felt that Boone was a very laid back place with laid back students and residents, and this incident proves me wrong that any thing can happen any where.
The incident itself really just makes me angry and flat out disgusts me.

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Preston Bridges


Thu Mar 20, 2008 2:23 pm
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I was surprised about the incident also. Like everyone else, I thought that something like that wouldn't happen here because Boone does seem different. It really just makes me sad that things like this are still going on. Although, it may be nothing but someone trying to scare people, I think we should still take it seriously.

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Mallory Beck


Thu Mar 20, 2008 5:03 pm
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Apparently, this issue shouldn't even be an issue. It was blown way out of context and there was really no need for any of this commotion. I can't say the exact details, but I was told by my roommate as she heard from one of her professors. I realize things like this are a huge issue, but I think that the students need to be informed of all the details so they don't have to make assumptions as to what may be really going on. Sometimes I feel like they leave us in the dust!

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Jenna Perry


Sat Mar 22, 2008 9:30 pm
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I guess part of the problem is that we don't want to believe that this kind of thing could happan here. People will do things that are simply to produce a shock effect.

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Robert W. Triplett


Tue Mar 25, 2008 12:33 am
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Although we would all like to think that things like this happen just for the effect, and while this may be true in many instances, I still don't think things like this should be taken lightly. I was very appreciative of the way things were handled when the "gunman" was on campus. Although it was scary, I did feel safe and I was glad that Chancellor Peacock and the campus police were at least attempting to keep us safe. I'm glad that the administration on campus took this incident so seriously and decided to have open forums about the issue. It makes me think they have a good grasp on what is happening on campus.

Meaghan Dunham
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Tue Mar 25, 2008 8:09 pm
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I was surprised too when I read the email, but I was even more surprised by the amount of people who didn't understand what a noose was and why it was such a big deal. I'm surprised for two reasons. One because for once in my life I knew more about issue than many of my peers, which doesn't happen often unfortunately. I was pretty sheltered growing up and I was never informed of many worldly aspects/conflicts that I might come across in life. This causes my second surprise. The fact that a noose instantly made me think of hatred and nonacceptance and it didn't automatically trigger that response for many of my peers makes me wonder where I learned it from. I don't know if I got it from television or books or what, but for as long as I can remember I've hated the idea of hanging as a way of death.

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Megan Snyder


Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:49 am
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Megan Snyder wrote:
The fact that a noose instantly made me think of hatred and nonacceptance and it didn't automatically trigger that response for many of my peers makes me wonder where I learned it from.


I think this part of your response was interesting. When I first read about the noose, my first thought was about suicide rather than hatred/racism, but it quickly went the racism route.

I know for me, I learned about it in history books.

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Megan Van Hoy


Wed Mar 26, 2008 1:26 pm
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It is amazing to see how things still haven't changed throughout history. People still have these horrible ideas and beliefs and I don't know what it is going to take to change their minds, but something has to be done about it. I feel like sometimes education isn't the only way to teach people about issues and help them combat their negative feelings, so what else can be done? Most people are brought up thinking these things, so why should they change now?

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Jenna Perry


Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:11 pm
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As most everyone else, I was really suprised....I never thought it would happen hear. I like to think most of the students at ASU are open minded but I guess no matter where you go there are those people that ruin the peace for everyone.

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Jayme Fox


Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:44 pm
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It shocked me at first, just to realize that someone would do something so crude, and demeaning. But once I got over that shock, I realized that there are people like that in the world, those who just don't care about the feelings of others. For me, that is one of my biggest reasons that I am going into the teaching profession, to help shape the future generation so they won't hate and discriminate against each other.


Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:21 pm
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Definitely sad to hear that this would happen even at our campus. I agree that this is an act of terrorism. Part of this problem is in our hands as educators. We msut teach that these antics are wrong.


Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:42 am
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I agree that students need to be taught that this type of behavior is unacceptable. I think it's really sad that people need to do these kinds of things in order to get attention and prove a point. This is the wrong way to do so.

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brandivannoy


Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:57 am
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First, I agree with Jenna, that the whole noose situation was unnerving, but blown way out of context. To all the responses of "I can't believe in Boone..." makes me think of how this town is evolving and growing. A lot of the student body has changed immensely in the past five years that I've lived here. Students used to not drive that much, and there were mostly "hippies" here, but since the football program has grown, the variation has, as well.

Most of all though, when I heard this situation, I instantly assumed as Megan Van Hoy did, that it was related to suicide rather than race. I was very surprised to learn of others assumptions that were opposite of mine and mine seemed to be the minority belief.

Did they ever even establish the real reasoning behind the noose?

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Erica Shelton


Sun Apr 27, 2008 3:05 pm
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There is a whole lot of controversy surrounding this noose, and the problem is that legally, the ASU administration cannot divulge much information concerning the specifics. The result, as so often is the case, is that a little information has become a dangerous thing. There are rumors flying everywhere, and the administration can do very little to quell them. However, my fiancee has been investigating this for the Mountain Times, so I can give you some facts.
First off, many people in the sociology department where the professor worked have said that the noose was there because the professor has written many academic papers on racism, and one in particular was about lynching in the South and the symbolism of the noose itself. It apparently served as reminder of what she was actually fighting against. However, there is a rumor going around that there was a "figurine" inside the noose, as if being lynched in effigy. I actually heard Chancellor Peacock himself confirm this fact at the open forum last week.
Second, there was a rumor that the student who found the noose broke into the professor's office after having bribed a janitor to let him or her in. Furthermore, there has been talk of the administration having suppressed this information and not filing charges in order to prevent the parents of the student (who has been confirmed as Black) from bringing media attention to ASU and portraying it as a racist institution.
According to an interview with an assistant chancellor, while she could neither legally confirm or deny any pressure on the part of the parents, she did say that there was an investigation and that ultimately it was the District Attorney--not the administration--that decided there was insufficient evidence to file charges. This is roughly all the information that has been officially released, but there are a lot of people out there that claim to have "inside information" and "the TRUTH". I caution you to think for yourselves and not get sucked up into what is amounting to a witch-hunt.
Lastly, for those of you "I never thought it could happen here" people, its attitudes like that that create disasters like the Columbine and Virginia Tech shootings, and if you remember, the people of Laramie, Wisconsin said the same thing about the Mathew Shepard murder. It can happen any where, and while living in fear is not the way to go about things, lack of awareness and an unwillingness to believe that "it could happen here" is just as dangerous.

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Stephan Ostrander


Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:28 am
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Thanks for straightening this discussion out Stephen. Jenna early on wrote that she had heard that this was blown out of context and was right.

More than anything else I want to put forth a new discussion regarding this issue and that has to be the administration. If you believe what Dr. Cynthia Pratt wrote in the Appalachian then the university and administration took actions that from the outside look to me like they were intentionally used to deciecve the student bodya nd general public from the real issue. Let's talk about this!

andy ellis


Mon Apr 28, 2008 1:58 pm
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