University says students in effigy hanging punished

NEWBERG, Ore. – George Fox University said four students have been punished with public service and immediate long-term suspensions for hanging a likeness of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama from a tree on campus last week.

The four students were punished with public service and immediate long-term suspensions, though university spokesman Rob Felton said federal privacy laws prevent him from saying how long the suspensions would last and who the students were.

Meanwhile, the FBI continued its criminal investigation to determine whether the students violated any civil rights when they tied fishing wire around the neck of the life-size cardboard cutout and hung it from a tree Sept. 23 along with a message that read, “Act Six reject.” The note referred to a scholarship and leadership program for minority and low-income student leaders at Christian colleges primarily in the Northwest.

“A criminal investigation is much more rigorous than an academic one, obviously,” said Beth Anne Steele, an agency spokeswoman. She couldn’t say when the investigation would be complete.

It was the university’s own internal investigation that led officials to the four students, who later confessed to having hung the effigy, Felton said. “To the best of our knowledge these are the only people involved. We’re not pursuing it any further.”