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Noose concluded to be a rope swing

Nov. 13, 2008

By Liz Foreman
Asst. City Editor

What was thought to be a noose found hanging in a tree Nov. 5 was actually the remnant of a rope swing, according to four students who came forward on Wednesday.

According to an e-mail sent Thursday by Interim President David Garland to the student body, four students claimed responsibility for the rope which appeared in a tree outside of Morrison Hall Nov. 4. The students spoke to a group composed of student leaders from multicultural organizations and student government Wednesday night. The four students revealed that the rope was left over from a rope swing that one of them had crafted.

The student body president and presidents of Baylor NAACP and the Black Student Association confirmed their unity on the issue and their trust in the students' statement in another e-mail sent to the student body Thursday.

"The students said that in no way did they intend for it to represent a noose or to transmit a racial message. We are thankful to these students for coming forward to clear up the issue, and we applaud their courage in doing so," the student leaders said in the e-mail.

The four students who claimed the rope agreed to talk to the Lariat on the condition that the Lariat would withhold their actual names and instead use pseudonyms.

The Woodlands sophomore Steve*, Houston freshman Olivia*, Dallas area freshman Alex* and Houston freshman Lydia* revealed to the student leader group that the rope was not meant as a malicious statement, but was an attempt to construct a rope swing.

"We didn't come forward sooner because we weren't sure how we would be able to tell somebody that their passion was guided at something that wasn't meant to be malicious," Alex said. "Basically, we weren't sure who was going to believe us and what would happen if people wouldn't."

Steve said he and three others were hanging out at midnight on Nov.4, near Fountain Mall and Morrison Hall when he found a piece of rope left over from the tents at homecoming.

Steve said he shaped the rope into a lasso and was practicing his lasso skills that he learned at a family reunion. After playfully lassoing a member of the group, Steve said he tied a Pringles can to the end of the rope and began swinging it.

He said he swung the rope tied to the can over a tree branch in a tree in front of Morrison Hall. When the Pringles can fell back down, Steve said he looped the rope through to secure it to the branch.

"I decided to make a rope swing," Steve said. "I always make rope swings back home behind my house."

Steve said he first made a small loop at the end of the rope in an effort to stand in it. When the loop proved too close to the ground, Steve said he made a bigger knot and attempted to sit in it like a chair. This second larger knot was about a foot off the ground, he said, but when he sat into it, he touched he ground. Steve said he and the group then decided to leave the failed rope swing.

"When we were ready to leave I didn't feel like climbing up the tree to untie it because I didn't climb up the tree to tie the knot in the first place, I ran a loop. So I just left it there," Steve said.

The timeliness of the rope hanging from a tree on Election Day with a black presidential candidate did not register to the group until later.

"I guess because we knew it was a thin rope with a single lasso knot a foot off the ground, we didn't even make the connection at first," Alex said. "That's why we didn't say anything earlier. We were surprised when we heard about a noose on campus."

It was not until Nov. 6 that Alex said he put the pieces together. While in a class that was discussing the rope found near Morrison Hall, he said it dawned on him that the "noose" could be the rope swing that he and his friends had fashioned.

Alex said he voiced his sudden realization to the class.

Dr. Melanie Nogalski, Baylor Interdisciplinary Core coordinator and instructor of Alex's class where the discussion took place, said she noticed his reaction.

"He was only putting the pieces together right then (in class)," Nogalski said. "I saw his face. It just dawned on him. I was the only one who saw his face and it's like a light bulb went on. I think he couldn't even believe it."

Steve said that he heard about a possible noose on campus through Interim President David Garland's e-mail that was sent to students Nov. 5.

"I got an e-mail and I wondered where this noose was," Steve said. "I had the thought in my head that I had made the rope swing, but I didn't think anyone would mistake it as a noose. So when I saw that someone had written about it and its location, I put two and two together I was shocked to learn that someone thought my dumb rope swing was a noose."

One of the students first spoke to Baylor Police on Wednesday afternoon, before speaking to the student leader group.

"We have some scared people," said Jim Doak, Chief of Baylor Police. "This is pretty heavy stuff for anybody, let alone freshmen. I can only speculate, but in my opinion they knew they had done nothing wrong, but they worried about how people would perceive it."

"It was misconstrued from day one and we had nothing else to go on," Doak said.

The process for them coming forward was very difficult, Nogalski adamantly expressed.

"This is a very courageous act for them to come forward because they're concerned people won't believe them," she said. "But they know this is true. Truth is in them speaking out when they made a connection between what they did Monday night and what people perceived it to be."

Dallas senior Parker Short, Internal Vice President and a member of the student leader group, said the students' sincerity was evident.

"Everyone could tell they were genuine, honest and definitely sorry that their acts had caused such a huge misunderstanding," Short said. "Everyone in the room could tell they were honest and sincere."

"From my perspective, in meeting with these groups, it has become apparent that this is a larger problem and we've just been addressing symptoms of it," Short said.

In the student leaders' e-mail, they revealed a commitment to improving the cultural atmosphere of the Baylor community.

"In the coming weeks, student leaders will meet together with Interim President Dr. David Garland to discuss specific steps the university can take to strengthen our existing commitment to understanding and mutual respect," the e-mail stated. "These have been trying days for the Baylor family, and we are confident that through open dialogue, inclusive conversations, and more importantly, proactively addressing issues, we can restore a sense of unity to the university community."

According to Garland's e-mail, the Silent Unity March is still planned for 9 a.m. today. It will begin in front of Waco Hall and students are encouraged to wear a Baylor T-shirt.

"The students have made the first step by initiating dialogue starting with administration and looking for ways to include the campus as a whole," said Pearl Beverly, director of Multicultural Activities. "The students came together, crossing cultural lines in a unified voice to express their concerns for what was happening on campus."

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