WASHINGTON, D.C. – American University pushed back finals for black students and issued special security protections for the school’s new student body president after several bananas in nooses were found on campus.

Students found several bananas in nooses on campus last Monday with messages including “AKA Free” and “HARAMBE BAIT” that were considered direct threats against student Taylor Dumpson, a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority who took office as the school’s first black woman in the role, The New York Times reports.

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Campus police released videos of a suspect leaving the bananas on campus and offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to and identification in the “hate crime.” During a town hall meeting held by the university the next day, numerous students stormed out and went to the registrar’s office to request withdrawal forms instead.

Days later, a noted white supremacist encouraged folks online to troll Dumpson, which prompted university officials to seek help from the F.B.I. and issued special protections for the student.

“The university immediately dispatched law enforcement to her home to provide her and her family with additional security and technology protections,” American University spokeswoman Teresa Flannery told NBC Washington.

University president Cornelius M. Kerwin held a press conference on Thursday with Dumpson and described the noose incident as a “cowardly and despicable act” that “created for this campus a period of great difficulty and great distress.”

He also held a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus to discuss the school’s response to hate crimes.

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But by Friday, students were camped out on campus and blocking traffic to pressure school officials to agree to a specific list of demands that included a sanctuary for “people of color” on campus, extensions on finals without penalization for POC students, and “a separate investigation team based out of the university (comprised of a group of non-biased expert contractors) that can investigate cases of racism and discrimination brought against the institution of American University,” according to the Chronicle for Higher Education.

Several students toted signs that read “Not here to fill your quota” and “if you’re not angry you’re not paying attention” as they blocked a tunnel near the university stadium that serves as a major roadway on campus.

“Do I not pay? Do I not pay for tuition?” junior Romayit Cherinet said to the crowd, according to the Eagle. “Do I come here and try as best as possible to ignore these racist ass white people? To ignore the microaggressions every single day?”

AU Provost Scott Bass arrived on the scene of the protest about 90 minutes after it started and conceded to all of the students’ demands.

“There’s nothing more important, in terms of my administration, than being a multicultural campus,” Bass told the students.

“We are interested in getting to the bottom of the issue, and the sooner we can do that, the better,” Bass said. “But I will also say that that doesn’t stop our commitment to do more. This is just a minimum…This is not just one incident. It’s a deeper issue in our community.”

Bass said he planned to meet with black student leaders on Monday to iron out the details.

“Students who need help with requests for extensions on final exams should contact the vice provost for undergraduate education, he said,” according to the Eagle.

Cherinet told the news site it was good to hear she could delay her exams, though she likely won’t. She said all of her social justice activities this semester will likely force her to take an incomplete in one of her courses, and blamed the outcome on Donald Trump.

“It is the Trump era, we have to remember that – he normalized this,” she said. “And it’s our job to say that it’s wrong.”