American University officials said 10 posters of Confederate flags were hung in various places on campus Tuesday, leading to an investigation by the campus police and Office of Campus Life.
The displays were described by American University as "Confederate flag posters with cotton attached to them," The Washington Post reported. University president Sylvia Burwell said in a statement that surveillance cameras captured a suspect hanging the posters.
"We must stand together strongly against this act, which was intended to frighten and divide our community," Burwell said in the statement. "I ask you to join me in standing together and show that we will not be intimidated.
"AU will respond strongly to attempts designed to harm and create fear. Instead, we will recommit to creating a community that does not stand by. When one of us is attacked, all of us are attacked," the statement continued.
Wednesday morning, American announced additional details about the incident.
"At approximately 10:00 p.m. on (Tuesday), the Department of Public Safety was alerted to the placement of a flyer depicting the Confederate flag, had been placed in a classroom in the Mary Graydon Center," the statement said.
"Attached to the poster was a cotton plant. It was determined through a canvass of campus, that additional posters had been placed at various locations on campus. … (The suspect) is believed to be a white male, approximately 40 years of age. He is believed to be approximately (5-foot, 10-inches). He was last seen wearing a pink shirt, an orange hard hat, camouflage pants, and off-white gloves," the statement continued.
The Confederate flag posters follow another incident in May where bananas hanging from string nooses were found in three spots on campus. The bananas had the acronym AKA written on them, alluding to the African-American sorority Alpha Kappa Alpha.
"These racist, hateful messages have no place in our community," Fanta Aw, American's vice president of campus life, said May 1 after that incident, USA Today reported. "The safety of our students is paramount."
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