So. The evidence is: Columbia University won't turn over the video showing who hung the noose on the black professor's door.
Infer.
UPDATE: Decision reversed. Good. It's absurd to report this to the police and then not cooperate. If you want to keep it private, resolve it internally.
ADDED: This Daily News article has a picture of the noose hanging from Professor Madonna Constantine's doorknob. There's also some info about her colleague Professor Suniya Luthar, whom Constantine is suing for $100,000 — some defamation case that we'll need to hear more about. We're told Luthar is not a suspect, but right under the picture of the noose, the newpaper has a picture of Luthar with worried expression on her face. In the photo, Luthar is caught wearing an oversized "Phantom of the Opera" T-shirt and short shorts. This exposure of Luthar — we see her thighs — seems really unfair.
AND: By contrast, this long NYT article about Constantine doesn't even mention Luthar's name. We're told only that Constantine has "filed a defamation lawsuit against another professor in her department" and that she "declined to elaborate on the case." (I want to add that it strikes me as inconceivable that Luthar is the culprit here.)
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Kerri Dunn anyone?
They have apparently reversed their position and claim that they initially could not release them without a subpoena because of "privacy concerns". which seem to have vanished now.
Given that the noose apparently was placed there between 2330 and 0800, in a secured building, the possibility of access seems limited.
I think that somebody is going to be embarrassed about what is on the tapes.
I wonder who it's going to be? The "angry white male professor of privilege" or the "angry black feminist victimized professor" on the tape?
NO!
It was Nifong?
NO WAY!
What David implies is what I thought when I first heard the story. Too funny.
the link to the flip
another story
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/2007/10/11/2007-10-11_columbia_reverses_course_agrees_to_give_.html
make the police wait 24 hours then roll over "before" getting served. sounds like the worst of all worlds, bad PR and no help if you actualy thought there was a privacy issue that you needed to be careful of.
the schools story
http://www.tc.columbia.edu/
I misread it as ``Moose'' on Drudge.
That would be a hate pun.
Is it the schvarze? Is it her hindu rival? Two protected categories. Two untouchables. Bow down. Bow down. Oh the glory! Celebrate celebrate celebrate diversity!!!
ricpic, You mean my
"angry white male professor of privilege"
is really a
"angry aryan male victim of post-colonial oppression"?
the horror!!
Her rival is an angry aryan FEMALE victim of post-colonial oppression: a twofer (or threefer if you count the colonial).
What crime was committed here?
DTL,
somebody hung a twine noose on the door of a black feminist prof at TC @ Columbia.
somebody screamed hate crime
lots of press conferences
finger pointing. no suspects, very limited access to building during period noose must have appeared, etc
then Columbia stonewalled the police for 24 hours before giving them access to the security cameras
nothing must in the way of facts yet...ricpic and I are playing games about whose victimhood will win out.
what is that line about nothing more vicious than an academic squabble because the stakes are always so small?
Professor C is suing Professor L for defamation and is asking for $100,000. The plot thickens.
and L is the aryan female..... ?
still have no clue about whether professor Plum or Ms Marple hung the noose though.
Prof C has the best motive
Could Prof L really be that dumb?
who was in the library when the deed was done? the world wonders. video at 1100 :)
You can't have a hate crime without the crime.
What is the underlying crime? Tresspassing?
Maybe a potential violation of 18 U.S.C. 245? That's a pretty complicated statute, but if the motive was racial and related to her employment, it looks like it might fit.
DTL,
that sounds like something I would say.
I have no clue really. it seems like universities and "progressive" police departments can create underlying crimes to which "hate" can be attached.
I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but you live in NYC, you have no idea about how the NYPD create these offenses against good order and human rights?
I'm also wondering what the crime is. Littering?
That the professor saw the noose and burst into tears makes me think that Columbia employs people who are a little high-strung. I wonder why she didn't just take the noose and throw it out.
Do you really think Columbia University bigwigs care about the opinions of a temporary instructor from Brooklyn College?
Ouch.
I'm in a foul mood tonight. And, I really don't like the way Glenn, Helen, and Ann conducted themselves in that restaurant, yesterday.
They were loud and boisterous.
Love, Maxine
Everyone is waiting for the news that the noose-hanger was black.
So, the question of the day is: Why is Dr. Helen sacred?
Why is nobody allowed to say anything negative about Dr. Helen?
It appears that Althouse is beholden to Glenn and Helen, no matter what they do.
Helen, especially can do no wrong. If Helen, in public were to scream out "I like to suck on little boys".....Althouse would defend her! (IMHO)
Why ??????
Peace, Maxine
I'm Dr. Helen'd out Maxine. That's now yesterday's story.
I don't get the noose story though. Why are the police involved? These seems like an internal matter that somebody should be either fired or expelled for. Not thrown in jail.
Maxine's wires are showing.
"But the reason why we are still stuck on such nonsense is because feminism will not let it "
You think people will go to your blog when you post things like that?
Are you trying to say because there is 'white blood' in many blacks (and vice-versa) that racism is a phony issue?
I have seen racism. It exists, and it is ugly. And I am not talking just about 'preferring one's own kind.' I am talking about people who literally think another is subhuman because of the color of their skin, and people who don't give a damn about the plight of kids growing up in slums because the majority of them are black.
And I have felt racism the other way. I have been punched in the face just because I was a white kid (at the time, "all those years ago") playing a video game machine in a place the black kids considered their turf.
It's not a phony issue.
There are phonies exploiting the issue, like Sharpton, and Duke. But the issues are very real.
And *this* particular matter at Columbia is real, and no matter how it comes down it is important. If it is a bigot, they deserve to be publicly vilified. If it is a black trying to fake a hate crime, he deserves to be vilified. If it is a white person who is trying to make a point about racism, much like those who sent the flyers out the other day pretending to be some conservative group hating muslims, he deserves to be vilified.
I am ready to vilify, here. But we need to figure out who first.
A little further in the comments---
MadisonMan and DTL, you do not see a crime here?
I know that if someone hung a noose on my door (at home or office), I would feel threatened. It is a crime to threaten someone with violence, at least in most places I have lived.
Or is this another 'free speech' issue to you all?
C'mon, Downtownlad, stick with it. You've gotta be relentless.
I'm tired of these pompous, bombastic Brunettes insinuating themselves into all our lives. ---Pretending to be WASPs with their "Smith" and "Jones" fake last names, and then getting the stamp of approval from blondes like Althouse.
It's time to put these smarmy Brunettes in their place!
Love, Maxine
Nah - That brunette bores me. Yawn.
But noose's are interesting.
Enigmaticcore - I'm not saying it was good to hang the noose. But it is a legitimate question about what crime is committed. I don't think it's threatening at all. It's just an expression of hate. And hate is cool. I hate lots of people.
If it was my property that they did it to, that WOULD be tresspassing. And it would be a hate crime. So prosecute them.
But I'm not sure there's an underlying crime here. If there is, I'm all ears.
I agree they should be vilified. But if they hate black people and are brave enough to admit they hate black people and they're public about that - I don't see how you're going to villify them by calling them racist. Perhaps they are proud to be racist.
I do not think it's a free speech issue. But what is the crime?
This is a specific incident that some are trying to make general at Columbia. I've not read of any evidence of system-wide pervasive racism at Columbia. That's not to say that people aren't claiming it's there -- but for what purpose do they make that claim?
It's a terroristic threat, implied. It's like the batterer husband leaving a dead cat on the porch, , like stalking. It's meant to strike fear.
It may not be a crime there in Columbia. At least once the perpetrator is known, it's certainly a fireable offense.
At least once the perpetrator is known, it's certainly a fireable offense.
Yes. Columbia not initially wanting to release the tapes certainly makes the story interesting.
The professor who was the target of the attack, Madonna Constantine, told hundreds of faculty and students at a rally on the Ivy League campus that the incident was a "blatant act of racism" that "reeks of cowardice and fear."
"I'm upset that our community has been exposed to such an unbelievably vile incident," she said.
They also were testing the 4-foot-long piece of twine for DNA evidence...
Later Thursday, police said a caricature of a yarmulke-wearing man and a swastika had been found on a university bathroom stall door. The hate crime unit was investigating the black-ink drawing, but police said there was no reason to believe the two incidents were linked.(!)
The state Attorney General's office also sent lawyers from its civil rights bureau and investigators to look into the incident.
Constantine,... has written about race, including a book entitled "Addressing Racism: Facilitating Cultural Competence in Mental Health and Educational Settings."
This is story is so funny on so many levels. 10-1 the noose was hung by Madonna Constantine. In any case, I'm glad NY is so wealthy and crime free they can send a battery of lawyers and "hate crime" police to investigate a noose.
And how many stories of this Columbia noose incident mentioned the nooses in Jena?
10-1 the noose was hung by Madonna Constantine.
Bingo.
"But what is the crime?"
Threatening someone with death, which hanging a noose from one's door can qualify, usually falls under aggravated assault. Throw in trespassing. I bet other charges that could be considered would include disorderly conduct.
I do not think it's a free speech issue. But what is the crime?
Aren't expressions of racial bigotry pretty much illegal in and of themselves in New York?
Personally I kinda think the professor hung it on the door herself, but who knows. Not like it'd be the first time, and she seems like the type that'd do it.
"I don't think it's threatening at all."
I bet if you found a noose on your door, you might feel threatened.
Let's hope you never find out, though.
How is one noose -- a single incident -- threatening? I can see if it were a series of things. Yes, that would be threatening. But an isolated incident? And is there anything out there to say this is not an isolated incident?
Maybe this is the start of a series of harassments against the good Professor. Maybe it's one isolated incident. I'm saying that I'm not assuming the worst.
My mom thought the cross burned on our lawn was pretty damned frightening, and it only happened once.
"How is one noose -- a single incident -- threatening?"
How is it not?
A noose represents death by strangulation. Lynching. It is the epitome of a threat.
I bet if you found a noose on your door, you might feel threatened.
No - I'm not black. Why would I feel threatened?
Funny, Columbia has the vapors about someone hanging a fake noose on someone's door, yet they just played host to someone who uses real ones.
Pal,
They stopped using nooses, because as Dr A said, they have no more gay boys in Iran.
as for hosting Dr A, well we can't apply Western standards to other cultures now can we?
All world cultures and mores are equally valid except ours, which is oppressive and racist.
Haven't you had your multi-cultural training yet?
Our country kills innocent people too Palladian. So I don't think we have much moral authority to criticize other regimes for their human rights abuses, which is very sad. We need to fix our own country first.
Who knows how many people this President has had tortured and killed. There have definitely been documented deaths from torture by this administration.
And according to our laws, you are innocent until proven guilty. And the people who were killed never even had a trial.
"No - I'm not black. Why would I feel threatened?"
Well, I am glad to see you recognize that a black person would find it threatening, which makes your earlier question puzzling.
But frankly, a noose does not care about the color of one's skin as it chokes the life out of you. One works just as well on a gay man, or a straight white man, or a woman, or any other person.
DTL,
If you are referring to captured suspected terrorists I argue that the difference is that we were trying to get information using techniques that some folks don't call torture and yes, some captives have died in custody, whether by our action or in-action, I don't know.
The Iranians on the other hand, are purposely using torture to inflict pain and suffering on innocent folks, then executing them to send messages to us.
I see a difference.
But frankly, a noose does not care about the color of one's skin as it chokes the life out of you. One works just as well on a gay man, or a straight white man, or a woman, or any other person.
I understand where you are comming from, but have 2 comments.
1. I guess it's because I grew up out West, not in the South, and before we started doing civil rights history in schools. I saw the civil rights movement, but it was in the news, not the textbooks, anyway... My orientation to nooses was that they were used by the posse, after they caught up with the horse thieves or claim jumpers. I was raised in what you would call Gold Rush Country. Sutter's Mill was close by on the American river. I'm serious. lynching of blacks and that noose connotation wasn't in my lexicon.
2. nooses and hangings, snap necks if done right, rather than choke the victim.
Oh you're all such good little Robots and sticking to the topic.
Hopefully Mommy Althouse will give you all a gold star for following directions.
We musn't upset Mommy by talking about Dr. Helen anymore.
Althouse readers can't think for themselves and refuse to rebel and revolt.
Just keep doing what Mommy says, and let manipulator Mommy control you, and control the dialogue.
Peace, Maxine
"2. nooses and hangings, snap necks if done right, rather than choke the victim."
To my understanding, you are correct in as far as how it is used by executioners.
The way it was used in lynchings, not so much. There it was mostly strangulation.
"Oh you're all such good little Robots and sticking to the topic."
Nrky rulz, dude-pretending-to-be-a-chick!
Maxine, why don't you just post about your random problem with Dr. Helen on your blog?
Right, DTL, and how dare did we do something about the ethnic cleansing in Serbia before taking care of the genocide happening in our own backyard?
And we've got some nerve criticizing a little machete-based violence in Rwanda considering how many guns we have right here!
God, I wish you were just a troll rather than an example of why the world's slipping into a rotten stagnation of fear and apathy.
"The professor who was the target of the attack, Madonna Constantine, told hundreds of faculty and students at a rally on the Ivy League campus that the incident was a "blatant act of racism" that "reeks of cowardice and fear."
Assuming the good professor didn't hang the noose there herself, I couldn't agree more with her.
It's an act of racism.
Unfortunately, racism 'aint illegal. David Duke ran for Congress (and almost won).
The crime here is the University refusing to cooperate in a police investigation of any kind. Someone should get strung up for that stupid move.
"I enjoy Maxine's comments."
---cyrus pinkerton 10/11/2007
Ten minutes ago I opened my front door and found Pogo blowing Rev...and Maxine was petting little white dog wearing earrings with tiny pictures of Malcolm X.
I don't know if I should find this threatening, but I do find it rather disturbing.
Except for the dog.
Very cute.
"Unfortunately, racism 'aint illegal. David Duke ran for Congress (and almost won)."
Aren't racist comments illegal in NY? Isn't that why the "Hate Crimes Unit" was investigating the drawing in the bathroom?
I think laws making "hate" speech illegal are unconstitutional -1st Amendment - but the SCOTUS and Grandma O'Conner thought otherwise.
We were discussing religion at Ace's tonight at
http://minx.cc/?post=243283
and someone posted part of the Catholic Catechism about their duty to spread the faith "to all men." I pointed out the sexist language and said the Church must "gynuflect" abjectly. I'm very proud of my concoction, particularly as a firm low-church Protestant, I don't mind pinging the Roman church.
Unfortunately, racism 'aint illegal.
"Unfortunately"?
I kind of like it that our government doesn't make a habit of punishing thoughtcrime.
A whole lot of people have been hanged who weren't black. A noose is a threat of violence the way a knife stuck in the door would be a threat of violence or writing "You're dead!" on the door would be a threat of violence.
Is this *not* a crime most places?
I thought it was.
Obviously, this is a hoax event.
If Columbia caught the president of YAF carrying the noose, it would shouting it from the rooftops.
* * *
Some dumb broad who can't get ahead in academia by having original, intelligent ideas dropped a noose in front of her door to make herself into a poor, innocent victim. It's almost always women who do this. I assumed the prof was innocent because for some reason I thought the prof was man. Take away the prof's weiner and I take away the presumption of innocence in hate crimes cases that conveniently lend themselves to being hoaxes. (I'm not a misogynist--women who aren't professors get the presumption of innocence. But women professors have done this thing too many times.)
* * *
The university found out and wanted to protect her, but Columbia students aren't smart enough to follow their university's lead. Obviously Columbia students aren't as smart as they think they are.
P.S.: I swear I didn't read Jonah Goldberg's post on The Corner before I wrote this. Great minds, etc. etc.
re: Professor Suniya Luthar--please don't lose sight of the fact that, in being skeptical of one woman professor, I'm impliedly defending another.
Bonus question: how long did it take Professor Constantine to learn how to tie a noose? Or did she buy it pre-tied?
Daryl: My bet is that the professor can't even tie a slip knot let alone a noose.
Palladian cuts to the glaring contradiction on campus at Columbia.
The empty noose is given totemic powers, and literally rallies students and teachers to combat its awesome force.
But actual nooses used to kill real gay men do not deter Columbia professors from inviting the man who uses them to give a speech.
I find that passing strange, if not outright hypocritical.
I will add that if the Professor with the noose on the door was outspoken in support of bringing noose-user Ahmadinejad to campus, and if the noose on her door is a protest against that support, then this is a great free speech case.
You can't have a hate crime without the crime.
What is the underlying crime? Tresspassing?
Well, hanging nooses is a defense for stomping a kid into unconsciousness with 5 of your friends --- so it's apparently potent stuff.
This is a specific incident that some are trying to make general at Columbia. I've not read of any evidence of system-wide pervasive racism at Columbia. That's not to say that people aren't claiming it's there -- but for what purpose do they make that claim.
If one was to ask one of the "civil rights" groups on campus, no doubt, they'd discuss how racist the University is.
It's amazing how brutally racist college campuses are if you listen to specific groups' claims.
-=Mike
All you "what crime?" people, it's been answered a few times. I've never seen a jurisdiction that doesn't have a threats offense, and a noose on the door, particularly given the context, would be a threat (unless the professor did it herself, but I have no reason to think that's the case at this point). As I mentioned above, it could also potentially be a federal crime violating 18 U.S.C. 245, which among other things makes it a crime to intimidate someone based on their race and the fact that they're enjoying particular employment.
Adding to Mikeinsc's comment and seeking comments from MM and Ann:
Academia: How is it that its inmates (e.g professors) overwhelming think that their environment is full of horrible racism. Yet Academia is arguably the most, leftist, progressive, liberated, etc, etc, etc environment
The Army: Arguably for the last 60 years (or more) is the friendliest place for blacks in the workforce. A place where on the whole, the employees feel that merit, rather than the color of ones skin determine who gets promoted or good jobs, etc. sure, there is some level of official "diversity quota" filling going on, but I honestly think that most officers feel that people that get promoted are ALL qualified, and that race just serves to break ties in occasional situations. Yet those same academics decry how racist, de-humanizing, criminal etc, etc the Army is.
It seems to me, at least, that much of the hand-wringing about racism, sexism, homophobia, etc. etc. is done over on the Liberal Arts side of campus. Here on the hard science side, proving that something has or has not happened is a lot easier because you don't have to deal with messy human interactions. The second Law of thermodynamics (and the first!) don't care if you're black, white, male or female. Still, the department I graduated from is overwhelmingly white and male, mostly because that's who gets PhDs in my field. Is that a problem? Does it make non-white non-males feel less welcome? Is it necessary to feel welcome to learn about atmospheric stability and Rossby waves? (Rossby was a white male) I don't know if anyone has the answer to these questions but I suspect it has to do with the individual. If you are constantly told that it's a problem for you and your learning that only white males are teaching you, then I think you will come to believe it. I will add that I've never heard at a conference that someone's work was sub-par because they were black, or white, or a woman, or a man. It's always bad work because the person wasn't thorough.
I think it's a lot easier for a College-age student who is rebelling against his or her upbringing on the path to finding their own self to think the world is against them. If they are one of those under-represented groups, well of course they'll cry out against the white male patriarchy!
Drill Sgt:
You might want to add there are more 'salt and pepper' marriages in the Army than you'll find in any academic setting.
Gosh, trial by media with paparazzo-style "reporting." So wrong. It appears sensational tabloid practices are rubbing off on legitimate journalism, waiting outside randomly related people's homes. Assuming she's innocent, I hope she's vindicated soon.
This exposure of Luthar — we see her thighs — seems really unfair.
Yeah, it's an ambush photo. Wait, was that racist?
On the other hand, her thighs are not fat. Wait, was that sexist?
I'll quit now.
In the NYDN story I got a kick out of this woman who must not be able to count well.
Teachers College student Nicole Woodard told them she wasn't surprised by the noose incident because she believes the college lacks racial diversity.
"When I walk into a class of 100 students and can count on my fingers how many look like me, that's a problem," said Woodard, who is black.
Teachers College, which was founded in 1887 and is the nation's largest grad school for education, has a student body that is 12% black, 11% Asian-American and 7% Hispanic.
she is black, complains that the school with 12% black enrollment and 30% minority enrollment overall lacks diversity. Since blacks are about 12% of the overall national population, I guess it must be that 12% doesn't represent either the percentage she wants as part of a spoils system, or that of the neighborhood she grew up in.
I think the black knob hung the noose on her own door.
Here's Kerri
I want to add that it strikes me as inconceivable that Luthar is the culprit here.
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means." - Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride
(Actually I also find it unlikely that the other prof had anything to do with it. I just wanted to quote inigo Montoya.)
I know this is going to rub some the wrong way, but I can't help myself. I must say that Luthar and Constantine are two of the most singularly unattractive women I've ever had the misfortune of laying my eyes on in my life...and I'm not young.
I'll stop here before I get myself into further trouble with even more injudicious remarks.
Leftist defense if it turns out that Constantine did it:
Even if she put the noose on her own office dooor, she should be commended for being willing to sacrifice her integrity to demonstrate what racism would look like if racism actually existed at Columbia.
"When I walk into a class of 100 students and can count on my fingers how many look like me, that's a problem," said Woodard, who is black."
Because people who don't "look like you" are bad!
Quotes like this are helpful for prospective students: they can avoid having an unpleasant experience by not taking any classes with this moron.
Lex Luthor: It's kryptonite, Superman. Little souvenir from the old home town. I spared no expense to make you feel right at home. That's why I put it on your door.
(Superman 1978)
I think the racism hysteria on campus these days is at least partially due to the fact that racial and gender studies are falling out of favor with students. These profs are nervous; they're fighting for the survival of their sinecures.
http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/21331
60 years ago the poet Allen Ginsberg was at Columbia as a student, and wrote a bunch of anti-Semitic comments on a wall. He was himself Jewish. When the administration found out, they put him into an insane asylum. He was trying to pretend that there was a big covert anti-Semitic controversy at Columbia.
I can't help recalling that when this case came up.
"State Sen. Bill Perkins (D-Harlem) raised the specter of Jena, La., which has been gripped by racial uproar since white teens hung nooses on school grounds last year.
"Even in the Ivy League towers at Columbia University, we might as well be in Columbia, S.C., in 1809. It's a virus and it's here as well as it is in Jena," he said."
Yes, it is exactly the same as Columbia, S.C. in 1809.
I have been to S.C. There is a small town there with a town cemetery. OUTSIDE the fence of the cemetery is a mass grave with a headstone commemorating "our negro friends" and that was considered wildly liberal back then.
(Miss Teschmacher asks if Superman is real; Lex Luthor says he can't be from this world]
Miss Teschmacher: Why?
Lex Luthor: Because if any human being were going to perpetrate such a fantastic hoax, it would've been me!
(Superman 1978)
she believes the college lacks racial diversity. "When I walk into a class of 100 students and can count on my fingers how many look like me, that's a problem,"
Well, she's certainly established that there are racists on the Columbia campus -- but since I don't think she's the one who tied the noose, that doesn't help much.
It may all be a semantic misunderstanding. The reverse-eight-noose, for example, is used to tie yo-yo's so that you can do sleepers with them.
Have the details of the knot been released?
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