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The mere fact that this is a debate question is utterly ridiculous! Everyone old enough to make a noose knows what it symbolizes, and knows the hate behind it. This hanging of the nooses has become bigger than the Jena 6, this has now become a nations problem, reason being because it wasn't properly handled at that Jena High School. If that principal had treated this like it was a hate crime, I guarantee not one more noose would have been hung anywhere. This has actually turned out to be a good thing, because I now know that there is racism on the NY police force, and among Columbia students, faculty, I had my suspicions before but I now know those feeling to be true.

How is it we can declare the tragic death of Matthew Sheppard a hate crime, but the noose hanging is a practical joke gone wrong? I'm sure if asked now the two killers would say that that night was a drunken mistake gone wrong. The hanging of these nooses is not a practical joke, but a representation of white students angered that a black student sat under a "Whites Only" tree. Would the crime have been taken more seriously if the "N" word would have been sprayed on the tree or noose?

The fact of the matter is that history seems to be repeating itself, and America seems to want to turn a blind eye to that. I am sadden by these events and hoping that someone in Congress will not just brush this under the "unseen" rug, but address it for what it is.

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