We as students at the University of San Francisco have had to endure countless acts of racial bias at the hands of USFCA students, faculty, and administration with no serious repercussions. This past year, Black students at USFCA decided to create the campaign Black at USFCA that addressed the Anti-Black racism that happens on campus. Given the immense amount of effort black students have put into getting their concerns addressed and handled correctly it is no surprise that once again Black students at USFCA are having to endure racist acts that threaten their safety. On March 30th, 2021 students at the University of San Francisco received an alarming message from president Paul J. Fitzgerald that a noose was found hanging from the fourth-floor balcony of a unit at the University of San Francisco's Loyola Village with a chair to the side of it. This noose and chair are positioned for the noose to be seen from the courtyard of Loyola Village with the chair in the background, which in historical context is a powerful image of Black bodies on display. This heinous act is violent and dangerous and made even worse because students were not informed of the act until the morning of the following day. 

Countless students have come forward in recounting their experience with racism and abuse on the USFCA campus. We have watched time and time again as USFCA's administration, Bias Education and Resource Team (BERT), Student Housing and Residential Education (SHARE), and Office of Student Conduct, Rights and Responsibility (OSCRR0 be neglectful to those students and not take sufficient disciplinary action against those harmful acts. A student hanging a noose outside of their dorm had to have known that they would get caught and only would have continued knowing that they could get away with it. This act is a direct threat to not only the safety of Black students but their mental well being and we are lucky that no one was harmed. In the email, Paul J. Fitzgerald to the USFCA community, we read, "As we learn more about this incident in the course of the investigation, further action may be determined." To say that action may be determined does not guarantee that action will be taken. Based on this statement it can be seen that there is a potential for this incident to be another instance of negligence on behalf of the University. Negligence and laziness are unacceptable considering how this student clearly has no regard for Black life and is putting the Black community in danger. We know this was a direct act of racism but do not know if this noose was intended for a member of our community and this fact alone is terrifying and disheartening. 

You cannot expect Black students to succeed at an institution that is careless about our well-being. We are tired and we want justice not only for this instance of racism but for all instances of racism that have yet to be rectified this year and throughout USFCA’s history. 

Your signature and support are critical in letting the University of San Francisco know that we will not let this incident go and will take any measures necessary to have the proper response to this dangerous act against our community. Please stand with Black students at the University of San Francisco as they demand the following:

• WE DEMAND the University release the name of the student that committed this act of terrorism.
• WE DEMAND the student immediately be removed from university housing indefinitely and be expelled. 
• WE DEMAND the University officially considers hate crimes as an immediate threat to safety. They must be handled like other emergencies and communicated to students through a university-wide notification system.
• WE DEMAND the University facilitates wellness checks and provides space for affected students following harmful incidents rather than expecting students to seek these resources themselves.