A viral video from the University of Mississippi, commonly known as Ole Miss, has sparked a racism controversy after two white female students were caught on a doorbell camera making monkey-like noises and gestures outside an apartment occupied by Black students.
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students → know → students
The incident has triggered a university investigation, public apologies and calls for disciplinary action.
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incident → trigger → action
The controversy began on November 6, when a ring doorbell camera outside an apartment in Oxford, Mississippi, recorded three white women walking past the entrance.
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women → begin → entrance
Two of them appeared to beat their chests and make monkey-like noises and gestures while looking towards the camera.
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Two → appear → camera
The footage was shared on TikTok by Jakiyra Metcalf, a Black freshman at Ole Miss who lives in the apartment with two other Black students, Victoria Johnson and Kaiyden Caldwell.
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who → share → students
The 13-second clip quickly went viral, attracting more than 13 million views and widespread criticism.
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clip → go → views
What happened after the video was recorded?
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video → happen → ?
Metcalf and her roommates said they went outside to confront the women after watching the footage.
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they → say → footage
According to the students, one of the women, identified as 18-year-old Alaina Kunes, apologized.
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one → accord → Kunes
She reportedly explained that the women had been making similar noises and gestures outside other apartment doors.
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women → explain → doors
However, the roommates said the second woman (Lauren Mayfield) continued making the gestures even as Kunes already said sorry
"She continued to make the gestures after the girl was apologizing," Johnson told CBS News.
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Johnson → say → News
The students said the behaviour was hurtful regardless of whether the women knew they were Black.
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they → say → ?
What did the student accused of making the gestures say?
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student → accuse → gestures
Kunes issued a public apology on November 10 through a statement released by her representative.
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Kunes → issue → representative
"To the women I offended and to the Ole Miss community, I sincerely apologize," she said.
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she → offend → community
Kunes claimed she had never met the women involved before November 6 and was unaware of their race.
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she → claim → race
She acknowledged that her actions were insensitive, inappropriate and deeply harmful.
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actions → acknowledge → ?
"I would have never intentionally made those noises or gestures toward a person of color," she said.
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she → make → color
She also said she had apologized directly to the women and intended to cooperate fully with the university's investigation.
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she → say → investigation
Kunes voluntarily withdrew from the university.
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Kunes → withdraw → university
What has Ole Miss said?
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Miss → say → What
The University of Mississippi condemned the behaviour and launched an investigation through its Office of Conflict Resolution and Student Conduct and Equal Opportunity and Regulatory Compliance.
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University → condemn → Resolution
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Shawnboda Mead described the behaviour as deeply troubling, hurtful and unacceptable.
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Mead → describe → behaviour
The university said it had contacted the students affected by the incident to offer support and connect them with available resources.
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it → say → resources
Officials also cautioned against spreading unverified information, saying at least one student had been wrongly identified online.
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student → caution → information
The university said no members of its sorority community were involved.
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members → say → community
Why has the incident attracted so much attention?
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incident → attract → attention
The controversy has revived discussions about the University of Mississippi's history of racial discrimination.
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controversy → revive → discrimination
Ole Miss was at the centre of a major civil rights confrontation in 1962 when James Meredith became its first Black student.
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Meredith → become → 1962
His admission triggered violent riots after Mississippi authorities and segregationists attempted to prevent him from enrolling.
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authorities → trigger → him
The latest incident has prompted Black students and their parents to question whether the university is doing enough to ensure that students from different racial backgrounds feel safe and welcome.
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students → prompt → backgrounds
Demetrick Stringer Jr., president of the university's Black Student Union, called for accountability, support for the affected students and stronger efforts to educate newcomers about the university's commitment to respecting every individual.
The three students targeted in the latest incident have said they intend to remain at Ole Miss.
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they → call → incident
The incident took a new turn with a fundraiser for Lauren Mayfield going viral.
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fundraiser → take → Mayfield
Lauren is not one of the victims but she is the woman who did not apologize and many on Internet think she is right.
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she → apologize → Internet
And that's why a fundraiser for her on Givesendgo is going viral.
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fundraiser → go → Givesendgo
"She did nothing wrong.
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She → do → nothing
She did not assault anyone.
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She → assault → anyone
She did not break any law.
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She → break → law
She made noises in a public walkway.
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She → make → walkway
The rest is a campus bureaucracy and online mob treating a juvenile stunt as a hate crime because the residents were black.
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residents → treat → crime
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
