Earlier this week, controversy erupted at the University of Delaware when students saw what looked like metal nooses hanging from a tree on the same night as a Black Lives Matter rally.Officials from the school say the metal wires were just the skeletons of lanterns leftover from a summer party, but some students aren't buying it. Now, a heated conversation about racism on campus has spawned on Yik Yak ' a gossip app that grants its users total anonymity ' and the student body has found itself divided.In case you're not familiar with Black Lives Matter or the Yik Yakapp, here's what you need to know:Yik Yak is a digital message board that allows people within a certain geographic area to post anonymous comments that anyone can read. AndBlack Lives Matter is a social justice campaign started in 2013 after the shooting of Trayvon Martin.Here's an example of some of the Yik Yak posts from the University of Delaware earlier on Wednesday."POC [People of Color] still feel like they're in danger of being lynched everyday," one student wrote on Yik Yak. "But at least we don't keep them in barn houses anymore, am I right'"Race is a problem on our campus! This is what UD students are saying!!!! #BlackLivesMatterUD #TheRealUdel #StayWoke pic.twitter.com/80MfZvgY2r' TheRealUDel (@BlackAtUD) September 23, 2015Here's how it all seemed to start:On Tuesday night, as conservative pundit Katie Pavlich gave a speech on campus, students gathered to protest her appearance at the university, citing that Pavlich had previously called members of the Black Lives Matter movement a "violent hate group,"Delaware online reported.Here's a tweet advertising the protest.This protest finna be LIT ''' Come out wearing your black & get a ticket from Trabant #TheRealUDel pic.twitter.com/WxXTU51j0p' TheRealUDel (@BlackAtUD) September 21, 2015Despite the protestors, Pavlich's speech went off successfully. On Twitter, one protestor asked if Pavlich could "see her whiteness."Here was Pavlich's response. She found the protestor "hilarious."This is hilarious. "Do you see your whiteness Ms. Pavlich" https://t.co/jMQdU7EM84' Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) September 22, 2015After the event, school authorities received several tips about a possible "racist display" on campus ' when they arrived, they found what looked to be three nooses hanging from a tree.A noose hanging outside of Mitchell Hall at The University of Delaware a day after a BLM demonstration. #TheRealUDel pic.twitter.com/ufDulaVCd6' Cami ' (@camilaandreaa__) September 23, 2015A source told Tech Insider students were first informed of the incident via an official campus alert email sent early Wednesday morning.Here is the email in full:UD Police are investigating a racist display found outside Mitchell Hall tonight and it is being investigated as a hate crime. Anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area between dusk and 10 p.m. is asked to contact police at 302-831-2222.Members of the community are reminded to walk in groups at night, use UD bus transportation or the UD Police walking escort service. Additional information will follow on the UD home page.The email did not include any photos, though tweets began popping up shortly:Three bent hangers resembling nooses found outside Mitchell Hall at approx. 10 p.m. UDPD cannot comment. #TheRealUDel pic.twitter.com/NkVVj3Wu2N' The Review (@udreview) September 23, 2015Students on campus immediately began discussing the incident on social media using the hashtags #TheRealUD and #TheRealUDel, which had previously been used as an organizational method for the protest."We protest peacefully, and this is what happens," one student lamented on Instagram. Students respond #blacklivesmatterud #blacklivesmatter A photo posted by UD Black Student Union (@bsu_udel) on Sep 22, 2015 at 8:41pm PDTon Sep 22, 2015 at 8:41pm PDT "@UDelaware the first time in my life I was afraid to walk home by myself and I'm from the South Bronx. #TheRealUDel ," another student tweeted in response.Asthe conversation about the incident grew on social media, there hadyet to be a secondupdate from school officials. As far as everyone was concerned, the incident was absolutely a hate crime. By mid-afternoon, students decorated the tree in question with signs bearing messages like "vanquish ignorance, spread love" and "end white supremacy."More signs have appeared outside of Mitchell Hall. #TheRealUDel pic.twitter.com/nG5jTlciNM' The Review (@udreview) September 23, 2015Here's where things start to get strange. A second email from the school was sent out early Wednesday evening.After a thorough investigation conducted throughout the night, UD Police have determined the three noose-like items found outside Mitchell Hall were not instruments of a hate crime.Instead, the University of Delaware police determined that the hanging wires were the remnants of paper lanterns which had been strung from the tree for an event earlier in the month. ABC 7 reported the update and included the following side-by-side comparison:NOT NOOSES' U of Delaware says items found hanging from tree were remnants of paper lanterns. http://t.co/PmbATc2sgl pic.twitter.com/Z9BiTAIutn' Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) September 23, 2015But despite the update that officials hoped would put the controversy to rest, some students remained unconvinced a hate crime hadn't been committed."Let the cover up begin," this student tweeted.Let the cover up begin #TheRealUDel pic.twitter.com/S0vBvDCod5' Maxine Shaw (@ItsTaylorTime_) September 23, 2015As the conversation became more heated, it seemed many students were abandoning the conversation on Twitter and moving over to YikYak, the anonymous gossip app.There, our source told us, it seemed like people were getting brave thanks to hiding behind a platform that promised they'd never be tied to their comments. Some began comparing other things on campus to nooses, like the spaghetti and meatballs at the University of Delaware dining hall, Pencader, or a telephone wire.One student, clearly smug about the school's stance that the incident was not a hate crime, posted their comments to Yik Yak:The butthurt is truly delicious today. The harvest is good and plentiful. If getting called on panicking prematurely offends you, stop doing it.The conversation turned aggressive quickly:"If wewanted to hang nooses to scare people, we would have gotten rope and done so," one Yik Yakker wrote in this post."I find it concerning that you are using 'we'," another Yik Yakker commented in response.On Twitter, where things weren't anonymous, students were expressing the idea that hate crime or not, the jokes surrounding the incident were just as insensitive and offensive as the alleged crime itself.Even if it wasn't a hate crime, social media reactions have shown us #TheRealUDel isn't as accepting as we thought it was.' Ali DeAngelis (@CurlyHairedDerp) September 23, 2015Nothing says #TheRealUDel like upper class suburban white kids not seeing the issue and delegitimizing the reaction of concerned students.' King Wdruff (@KingWoodruff) September 23, 2015And back on Yik Yak, outright racism prevailed.As social media remained a hotbed for opinions, University of Delaware president Nancy Targett attempted to bring some of that conversation out from behind the anonymous message boards by hosting a gathering on the campus green for students to come and openly discuss the incident.Join us as we rally to have a conversation on racial relations at UD #BlackLivesMatterUD #TheRealUDel pic.twitter.com/sMP4g5kgTx' TheRealUDel (@BlackAtUD) September 23, 2015While the event seemed to be meaningful for some students, others were still resistant to the idea that there was a race problem on campus in the first place.Check out this Yik Yak post from someone who wondered why more white students hadn't attended the gathering."Cause we didn't do anything wrong," replied one student.It looks like this is just the beginning of a larger ' and very necessary ' discussion about race amongst members of the University of Delaware student body.At least one student at the gathering was overheard saying, "I'd rather eat McDonald's than hear #BlackLivesMatter again," according to our source.We reached out to campus officials at the University of Delaware earlier today and will update if we hear back.Join the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: YouTube star reveals why people are so obsessed with cute Japanese toys
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