The undergraduate student who placed a noose in a tree on the Bryan Center Plaza has come forward and is no longer on campus, Duke announced at a press conference Thursday afternoon.
The student's identity was discovered after an investigation by Duke University Police and the Office of Student Affairs, and he or she is no longer on campus, said Michael Schoenfeld, vice president for public affairs and government relations. Because of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, the student's name and other personal information—such as year, gender and race—will not be released.
Schoenfeld said that the investigation was aided by information from members of the Duke community. Tips from the community, rather than surveillance video, were responsible for helping to identify the student. Schoenfeld added that the student will now go through the standard student conduct process while the University tries to determine factors such as whether or not other individuals were involved or if there was pressure on the student from an outside organization.
Duke is working with the state and federal bureaus of investigation as they look into potential criminal offenses.
To maintain the integrity of the student conduct process, the University is not in a position to discuss aspects of the incident such as motivation.
Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said at the press conference that it is "way too soon to determine" what the punishment for the student responsible will be, noting that anything up to expulsion could be possible. He added that students were "very quick" to come forward with information about the situation.
A timeline for the student conduct process is not yet available. The student will be given full due process and will proceed through the student conduct process as normal, Moneta said.
He could not elaborate on the process for removing the student from campus, or say whether or not the student left voluntarily.
A little before 7 p.m. Moneta sent an email to the student body encouraging students not to engage in speculation as to the name of the student involved.
"It's come to my attention that names are circulating regarding the most recent incident causing great harm to students who are not connected to the event. Please do not speculate and please do not target individuals who have nothing to do with this. I'm particular a student with initials RM has been identified as involved. That is not true," Moneta wrote in the email. "There are legitimate legal reasons the name cannot be shared. Be respectful and avoid inappropriate targeting of students."
The student with the initials RM came to Student Affairs earlier in the day Thursday, "extraordinarily distraught," Moneta said. Social media posts accusing the student in question of the noose were circulating, and the student was "getting slammed" with messages from individuals who thought he was responsible. The situation worsened through the afternoon and evening, prompting Moneta to send the email.
Check back for updates on this developing story at www.dukechronicle.com and on Twitter at @DukeChronicle for the latest updates.
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