( CNN ) Duke University students and faculty members marched Wednesday afternoon chanting `` We are not afraid . We stand together , '' after a noose was found hanging from a tree on campus . Duke officials have asked anyone with information about the rope noose , which was found near a student center at 2 a.m. , to call campus police . Photos of the noose prompted outrage from the community as they were passed along on social media . At a forum held on the steps of Duke Chapel , close to where the noose was hung , hundreds of people gathered . `` You came here for the reason that you want to say with me , 'This is no Duke we will accept . This is no Duke we want . This is not the Duke we 're here to experience . And this is not the Duke we 're here to create , ' `` Duke President Richard Brodhead told the crowd . The incident is one of several recent racist events to affect college students . Last month a fraternity at the University of Oklahoma had its charter removed after a video surfaced showing members using the N-word and referring to lynching in a chant . Two students were expelled . In February , a noose was hung around the neck of a statue of a famous civil rights figure at the University of Mississippi . A statement issued by Duke said there was a previous report of hate speech directed at students on campus . In the news release , the vice president for student affairs called the noose incident a `` cowardly act . '' `` To whomever committed this hateful and stupid act , I just want to say that if your intent was to create fear , it will have the opposite effect , '' Larry Moneta said . Duke University is a private college with about 15,000 students in Durham , North Carolina .
The noose , made of rope , was discovered on campus about 2 a.m . Hundreds of people gathered afternoon to show solidarity against racism . Duke official says to unknown perpetrator : You wanted to create fear but the opposite will happen .