The University of Kentucky police are investigating after an effigy of the Democratic presidential nominee, Sen. Barack Obama, was found in a tree on the campus this morning. The university’s president, Lee T. Todd Jr., deplored the incident in written statement, saying he was “personally offended and deeply embarrassed by this disgusting episode.” He also apologized on the university’s behalf to Senator Obama.

The effigy was taken down around 8:30 a.m., and many students were unaware of the incident until later in the day, the Lexington Herald Leader reported on its political blog. One student told the newspaper he hoped the episode was just a Halloween prank, and others expressed fears that it would reinforce negative stereotypes about Kentucky. A campus forum was scheduled for tonight in response to the incident, with student, community, and university leaders planning to speak.

This is the second time an effigy of Senator Obama has roiled a university campus in recent weeks. A cutout image of the candidate and a message possibly disparaging a scholarship program were found at George Fox University, in Oregon, in September. Four students were disciplined in that incident. —Charles Huckabee