Campus officials found the graffiti, which depicts a noose with the words "San Diego" and "lynch" written next to it, on the door of a bathroom in the school's Earth and Marine Sciences building on Monday morning. Over the graffiti, it appeared someone had written "moron," which was crossed off and replaced with "visionary," university spokesman Jim Burns said.
UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal issued a statement Monday saying the graffiti made clear reference to an incident at UC San Diego last week in which a noose was found hanging from a light fixture in the campus library. He called the drawing "deeply disturbing" and "deplorable."
The incidents followed a controversial Feb. 15 off-campus party at UC San Diego mocking Black History Month. The party was titled "Compton Cookout."
"In the end, it's possible this was one person's idea of a joke, that referenced what's been happening at UC San Diego," Burns said of the Santa Cruz graffiti. "But no one here is finding it funny and in fact it's quite offensive."
Campus officials are investigating the incident and working to identify perpetrators, Blumenthal said.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact UCSC police at (831) 459-2231 or anonymously by calling (831) 459-3TIP (3847).
