Ole Miss investigates doorbell video of women making monkey noises
University calls gestures racist and directed toward other students after 12 million views, one student misidentified online before inquiry began
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Lloyd Bell Tower on the campus of the Mississippi Rebels before a game against the Southern Illinois Salukis on September 8, 2018 in Oxford, Mississippi.
newsweek.com
The University of Mississippi has opened an investigation after doorbell-camera footage appearing to show young women making monkey noises drew 12 million views online. Vice-chancellor Shawnboda Mead said the video, time-stamped November 6, shows students "engaging in racist gestures directed toward other students," and that staff have contacted those directly affected to offer support.
The clip was posted by student Jakiyra Metcalf with the caption "what do we have to say about this??" Tasha Bolton, who says her freshman daughter shares the apartment below the women in the footage with two Black roommates, shared the video on Facebook and demanded to know what steps the university would take. The identities of those shown have not been independently verified.
Mead's statement, issued Sunday, called the behaviour "deeply troubling, hurtful, and unacceptable" and said the incident was being actively investigated. It gave no indication of what penalties might follow. It did ask the public to be "thoughtful" about what it shares — because one student had already been incorrectly identified as involved. "Sharing unverified information can cause additional harm to people who had nothing to do with what occurred," the statement said.
The video spread during a year of tension in Mississippi: a series of deaths of young Black people, multiple bodies found hanging from trees in suicide rulings that some families dispute, and September testimony from a detective that one such hanging was "staged" and tied to a drug dispute. More than 60,000 people have signed a petition demanding an independent review of chief medical examiner Staci Turner over her handling of cases involving people of colour.
By the time the university spoke, the clip had drawn 12 million views and social media had already named one student as involved. The university says that student had nothing to do with it.