Ole Miss students who were harassed by white students speak out

Ole Miss students who were harassed by white students speak out Three Black University of Mississippi students who shared a now-viral Ring camera video of two white students making monkeylike sounds and gestures outside their front door say they only received an apology from one person - Bookmark Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in One of the two white students caught on a Ring camera making monkey-like sounds and gestures outside the door of three Black University of Mississippi students has apologized to them. According to the students, the other woman escalated the behavior only after the camera stopped recording. The video has now been seen millions of times, and the three students have described the parts of the encounter that were never filmed. “She continued to make the gestures after the girl was apologizing. It was like a slap in the face,” Victoria Johnson told “CBS Mornings” in an interview that aired Wednesday. Johnson spoke alongside her roommates, Jakiyra Metcalf and Kaiyden Caldwell. The three women discussed the incident, which has provoked anger on the Ole Miss campus and across social media. The gestures and sounds are viewed as racist because they echo old, ugly stereotypes comparing Black people to simians. The fact that it took place at a college in the Deep South with a long history of racism has added to the raw emotions. Metcalf first saw the footage on Friday. She and Johnson then went outside to speak to the two women, who had a third friend with them. That friend was only visible in the video glancing at the door. The students said one of the women, Alaina Kunes, apologized but said the group had been making animal-like noises and gestures in front of other doors in the apartment complex. The second woman, who lives in the complex, purportedly kept the antics going off camera. Metcalf's TikTok post has been viewed more than 13 million times in four days. On Monday, the university posted a statement condemning the actions in the video as “offensive, hurtful, and unacceptable behaviors that conflict with our university values.” School officials also said they are investigating the incident and are dedicated to “maintaining a safe and welcoming environment.” Kunes, 18, issued a public apology on Tuesday through a law firm. “Before the incident on Nov. 6, I never met the women involved and was unaware of their race, however I recognize my actions were insensitive, inappropriate and deeply harmful,” Kunes said. “I would have never intentionally made those noises or gestures toward a person of color. I have apologized to the women and I pray they will forgive me.” She has since withdrawn from school. She also said she would fully cooperate with any investigation. The firm originally posted the statement on its website. It had to be taken down because of ongoing harassment, Kate Gardiner, a spokesperson for the firm, said. Kunes will not be speaking beyond the statement, Gardiner added. The fury directed at Kunes and the second woman, who has not publicly identified herself, has also prompted pushback against using social media to malign them. Tom Hennessey, an influencer tied to online fundraisers for people criticized for making xenophobic remarks, is credited with starting a fundraiser for the other woman on the Christian fundraising platform GiveSendGo. It had raised more than $30,000 as of Wednesday afternoon. The fundraising page states the “online mob (is) treating a juvenile stunt as a hate crime because the residents were Black.” The fundraiser also says it could possibly be canceled if the woman “disavows our support and bends the knee” and apologizes. Contacted by DM on X, or Twitter, Hennessey said there is a double standard and that less attention is given to Black-on-white crime. He declined to say whether he had been in touch with the student about the fundraiser. The university has been the backdrop for a Black student facing taunting, animal-like mimicking before. During a May 2024 campus demonstration over the Israel-Hamas war, a counterprotester made monkey sounds and gestures at a Black female student. A student journalist filmed the interaction. The video drew the attention of outgoing Georgia Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, who appeared to praise the behavior in a tweet. Ole Miss also has a long history with racism, civil rights and segregation. In 1962, activist James Meredith became the first Black person admitted to the school after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in his favor. Then-Gov. Ross Barnett tried to block his admission but could not disobey federal law, according to the National Museum of African American History & Culture. White objectors still instigated a riot on campus. Two bystanders died and more than 200 arrests were made. Asked whether they forgive Kunes, Metcalf, Caldwell and Johnson hedged. “I still have very mixed feelings about it,” Metcalf said. “It's still hurtful, and it's still devastating that someone would go to our camera and do that," Caldwell said.