Loose Noose at Columbia University (Updated)

Symbol of Hate found on door at Columbia University.
Students are outraged at hate crime.

Protesters rally on campus- We are all Jena!
We all beat white kids unconscious??

A demonstrator stands during a moment of silence at a rally outside the Teachers College of Columbia University in New York October 10, 2007. People gathered outside the college protesting the discovery of a noose outside the office door of African-American professor Madonna Constantine. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (UNITED STATES)

The campus student body is outraged at the hate crime on campus.
ABC New York reported:

There was growing outrage Wednesday night after a symbol of hate was found on the campus of Columbia University the day before.

A noose hanging on the door of an African American professor has sparked so much anger at the school. It's the latest in a string of bias crimes in our area.

"Hanging the noose on my door reeks of cowardice and fear on many, many levels," Prof. Madonna Constantine said to thunderous applause.

Constantine, who was greeted Wednesday like Joan of Arc, is a prominent member of the Columbia University Teachers College faculty. It was on her office door Tuesday morning that someone hung a noose. And whether it was a prank or something more, it has sparked a furor on the campus and beyond:

"We're not sure," student Lauren Carel Barnard said. "It could be somebody's stupid idea. It really isn't funny."

State Sen. Bill Perkins, D-Harlem, said there's something very alarming about the image of the noose.

"Understand something about that noose: that noose has replaced the burning cross. It's as if a burning cross was placed on the campus of Columbia University and set afire," Perkins said.

Professor Madonna Constantine speaks at a protest rally at Teachers College at Columbia University, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2007, in New York, one day after a hangman's noose was discovered on her office door at the college. Authorities on Wednesday were looking into whether a noose hanging from the door of a black professor at Columbia University was the work of disgruntled students or even a fellow professor, an incident the university's president described as an assault on everyone at the prestigious school. (AP Photo/Diane Bondareff)

FOX News reported that another professor is being investigated for the crime.

UPDATE: ABC News reported:

Constantine is involved in a lawsuit with another professor at the college, according to court records.

WCBS New York has this: "As for rival professor since professor Constantine is suing for defamation, police say she is not a suspect and has denied any involvement."

Suniya Luthar, a professor of psychology and education at Columbia University, is being sued for defamation, libel and slander and Constantine is seeking damages in "excess of $100,000."
Someone with a Columbia University ID and knowledge of TC’s halls is behind the "crime".