{"id":4338,"date":"2026-11-12T08:31:12","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T08:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=4338"},"modified":"2026-11-12T08:31:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T08:31:12","slug":"ole-miss-students-speak-out-after-alleged-racial-harassment-in-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/?p=4338","title":{"rendered":"Ole Miss students speak out after alleged racial harassment in video"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The Black college students who were harassed by two White students at the University of Mississippi making monkey gestures and sounds outside their apartment are speaking out after the incident went viral.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The women said they were familiar with the stories of racism some faced at Ole Miss over the years \u2014 the school didn&#8217;t allow its first Black student, James Meredith, until 1962, for instance \u2014 but they were not prepared for what they experienced last Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Jakirya Metcalf, a freshman at Ole Miss, said she was in her apartment last Friday night when she saw the video on her Ring camera.<\/p>\n<div class=\"max-md:faux-bleed mb-4 bg-accent\/2 pb-5 md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;We actually went outside and tried to, like, approach them and get them to explain why they did that,&#8221; Metcalf told &#8220;CBS Mornings.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;One girl was like, &#8216;I&#8217;m sorry we did that to four doors,'&#8221; Victoria Johnson, one of the roommates, said. &#8220;And mind you, we didn&#8217;t see any one of those doors. It was just ours that was targeted. And she was like, &#8216;We didn&#8217;t mean any harm.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/56d11f161f1666149e302ff9a50bca54f0005f232b2d94eceb68bdabda5123ae\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w960%3Bquality_80%3Bformat_webp\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fcbs_news_897%2F0bd051d74b37c41aa8fade24c16ad6a5.png\" alt=\"Ole Miss students Jakiyra Metcalf, Kaiyden Caldwell and Victoria Johnson, and Johnson's mother, Chiquita Lao, discuss the racist incident at the women's dorm. \/ Credit: CBS News\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" data-nimg=\"1\" \/><button class=\"group absolute bottom-0 hidden size-full md:block\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\" data-rapid_p=\"8\" data-y-link-id=\"06q0cz80idd5ag0t27cv\"><\/button><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div><span class=\"[&amp;_p]:inline\">Ole Miss students Jakiyra Metcalf, Kaiyden Caldwell and Victoria Johnson, and Johnson&#8217;s mother, Chiquita Lao, discuss the racist incident at the women&#8217;s dorm. \/ Credit: CBS News<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Metcalf and Johnson said the first person seen on the video, Aliana Kunes, apologized. But the second person, who made monkey sounds toward the camera, doubled down off-camera.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;She continued to make the gestures after the girl was apologizing,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;It was like a slap in the face.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"max-md:faux-bleed mb-4 bg-accent\/2 pb-5 md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I had said that I don&#8217;t think they should go around because even if they go to other people&#8217;s door and do that, I don&#8217;t think they should do that because it&#8217;s very disrespectful,&#8221; Metcalf said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mb-4\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Kunes apologized for her actions in a statement Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;To the women I offended and to the Ole Miss community, I sincerely apologize,&#8221; she wrote. &#8220;Before the incident on November 6, I never met the women involved and was unaware of their race, however, I recognize my actions were insensitive, inappropriate, and deeply harmful. 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.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Kunes voluntarily withdrew from the university after issuing the statement Tuesday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"max-md:faux-bleed mb-4 bg-accent\/2 pb-5 md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">When asked if she accepted Kunes&#8217; apology, Metcalf said she had mixed feelings.<\/p>\n<div class=\"mb-4\">\n<div id=\"recirc-9dd28991-9f43-3b82-ac81-1e2f7d6fec21\" class=\"mb-4\">\n<div class=\"grid gap-4 lg:grid-cols-2 lg:grid-rows-[auto_auto_1fr]\">\n<div class=\"relative w-full\">\n<div id=\"_r_n1_\" class=\"absolute inset-0 rounded-[4px] focus-within:ring-2 focus-within:ring-link\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I feel like no matter like who we are, or if she knew our race or not, but the gestures and the voices, I feel like it still was very disrespectful,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I appreciate the apology, but I feel like it still doesn&#8217;t change what happened on that Friday, because it&#8217;s still hurtful and it&#8217;s still devastating that someone would come to our camera and do that,&#8221; Kaiyden Caldwell, another of the roommates, told &#8220;CBS Mornings.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"rounded-lg\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/lo\/mysterio\/api\/b3e529f0f2ad9c472a55479ee9d03b55de7d92084f524446c4d0177ccbcb4194\/lightyear_networkapi\/resizefill_w960%3Bquality_80%3Bformat_webp\/https%3A%2F%2Fmedia.zenfs.com%2Fen%2Fcbs_news_897%2F730f7f7d9e8cb6a94cf74abde81ff917.png\" alt=\"Two Ole Miss students made racist gestures and noises at a Ring camera on the home of a group of Black students at the college.\" width=\"960\" height=\"540\" data-nimg=\"1\" \/><button class=\"group absolute bottom-0 hidden size-full md:block\" aria-label=\"View larger image\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\" data-rapid_p=\"9\" data-y-link-id=\"0i8r2h809lmlzn0x0l5a\" data-v9y=\"1\"><\/button><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<div><span class=\"[&amp;_p]:inline\">Two Ole Miss students made racist gestures and noises at a Ring camera on the home of a group of Black students at the college.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Johnson&#8217;s mother, Chiquita La\u00f3, said she was surprised to learn Kunes withdrew from the university after Kunes said she was harassed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"max-md:faux-bleed mb-4 bg-accent\/2 pb-5 md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I hate to hear that because you know the children are the future, but I feel like everybody needs to be accountable,&#8221; La\u00f3 said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">University officials said in a statement they are investigating the incident and have spoken with those targeted.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;The university has been and will continue providing care and resources to our students,&#8221; the school said in a statement on Wednesday. &#8220;We have met with the impacted students and their families to offer support and discuss the relevant processes, and the investigation is moving forward. Student privacy laws prohibit the university from commenting on any specific student, including any potential disciplinary action.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Metcalf, Caldwell and Johnson said they plan to stay at Ole Miss and said they won&#8217;t let the incident ruin their time at the school.<\/p>\n<div class=\"max-md:faux-bleed mb-4 bg-accent\/2 pb-5 md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">CBS News reached out to the two other women in the video but did not hear back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I want people to be mindful of their actions now,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;So when people who would potentially experience the same situations to speak out and don&#8217;t let things be swept under the rug, because this is a reality for us, and I feel like voices need to be heard.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Black college students who were harassed by two White students at the University of Mississippi making monkey<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":4339,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-us"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4338"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4338\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4340,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4338\/revisions\/4340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.cedritech.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}