The FBI is helping American University in Washington, DC, investigate an episode in which bananas were found hanging from nooses on campus this week, a spokeswoman for the agency said Wednesday.
The bananas were found at the university Monday, the same day a black woman took office as the student government president for the first time in the institution's history.
The bananas had short messages scrawled on them, including "AKA FREE," an apparent reference to Alpha Kappa Alpha, a predominantly black sorority of which Taylor Dumpson, the new student body president, is a member; and "HARAMBE BAIT," referencing the gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo who was killed last May after a child fell into its enclosure.
Several pairs of bananas were discovered around campus, each strung together with a thin black rope fashioned to resemble a noose.
This is at least the second time in the last year that bananas have been used as symbols to stir controversy at American University. In September, white students were accused of leaving a banana at the door of one black woman's dorm room and tossing a rotten banana at another.
Following that episode, Neil Kerwin, university president, expressed "deep disappointment and frustration" in a letter to students.
"We will confront racist expressions with forceful condemnation and respond to discrimination with every tool at our disposal," he wrote.
Dumpson could not immediately be reached for comment, but she addressed the incident in a statement on Monday. "This is not what I imagined my first letter to you all would be," she wrote.
"In my first message to the student body, I would have wanted to talk about accountability, transparency, accessibility, and inclusivity. Now more than ever, we need to make sure that members of our community feel welcomed and above all, safe on this campus."
On Tuesday, university police released a short video of a potential suspect walking around campus before dawn Monday morning. Police were offering a $US1000 reward for information leading to the suspect's identification, according to a memo that called the incident a "hate crime."
A large demonstration formed Tuesday in response to the episode, with students gathering to attend a town-hall meeting hosted by the administration. Hundreds of students then walked out, Jones said, and made their way to the registrar's office to request withdrawal forms as a symbolic act to express their disappointment.