( CNN ) -- The University of California San Diego has suspended a student who admitted to hanging a noose in a campus library , school officials announced Friday . `` We are feeling real pain , and we will take real action , '' said UCSD chancellor Marye Anne Fox told reporters . `` The safety of our students , faculty , and staff is my primary concern . '' The student , whose identity was not released , admitted Friday to police at the University of California San Diego that she hung a noose Thursday night in the library , police said . `` Detectives have interviewed the student and taken a statement , '' UCSD police said in a release . `` The investigation is ongoing as we continue to identify and interview witnesses . '' After Thursday 's discovery , hundreds of people joined a campus rally to oppose racial intolerance . `` It 's OK to feel hurt and angry about this , '' said one participant . `` We 've been silent for too long . '' Watch iReport of campus protest . One student said she feared for her safety . The student 's admission came the day after police were alerted to the presence of the noose in a library bookcase at the school . Fox said the admission was a result of `` pressure from our UC San Diego community . '' `` This underscores the fact that our university is banding together , '' she said . In a crime alert bulletin , police said they received several reports Thursday around 10:30 p.m. of the noose on the seventh floor of the Geisel Library . It was found hanging in an aisle facing windows . `` Officers spoke with people who were in the area , but no one witnessed the noose being placed on the bookcase , '' police said in a campus notice . Hanging a noose with intent to terrorize is a crime , it noted . On Friday , the school announced several measures it was taking in response to recommendations from its Black Student Union . They include the establishment of a task force on minority faculty recruitment , a new commission to addressing declining African-American enrollment and finding space for an African-American resource center . `` I want to emphasize these are the initial steps , and I realize we have a lot of work ahead of us , '' Fox said . The noose incident occurred two weeks after Black History Month was mocked in an off-campus party that was condemned by the school . It 's unclear how long the student is suspended for .
University suspends student who admits hanging noose in library . Hundreds attend student rally to protest racial discrimination . Incident comes weeks after Black History Month was celebrated in off - campus party .