School officials reported “offensive, hurtful, and unacceptable” actions “that conveyed hostility and racist overtones” to administrators, prompting the University of Mississippi to launch an investigation into one student’s behavior at a May 2 counterprotest against a pro-Palestinian demonstration.
Chancellor Glenn F. Boyce wrote a letter to students on May 3 stating that school authorities are investigating whether further investigations are required.
Related posts
“As a public institution, we are committed to supporting the rights of our students, faculty, and employees to express their views in a respectful manner and to assemble peacefully as guaranteed by the First Amendment,” Boyce stated in the May 3 email, which school officials sent to ABC News. “However, some people at the demonstration acted in ways that contradicted our university’s ideals. Behaviors and words that dehumanize people based on their race or ethnicity diminish them and undermine the principles that are essential to a civil and safe society.”
Dozens of pro-Palestinian protestors gathered on campus to demand that the institution divest from any investments that could aid Israeli military operations in Gaza. They also want the institution to denounce what they call “genocide” against Palestinians during Israel’s conflict in Gaza, which started on October 7 when Hamas militants entered Israel and Israel responded with ongoing military operations in Gaza.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, Israeli forces have killed at least 34,183 Palestinians and injured 77,143 others since October 7. According to the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hamas or other Palestinian militants have killed at least 1,700 people in Israel and injured 8,700 more.
Pro-Palestinian protestors at the University of Mississippi claimed in a statement that they faced racism, violent threats, and food thrown at them by counterprotesters, some of whom allegedly stated, “Here’s your humanitarian aid.”
One video shows a black protester outside the protective barricades that encircle the pro-Palestinian marchers, recording and conversing with counterprotesters.
According to student Stacey Spiehler, who captured the footage, she can see law enforcement agents asking her to return to the barriers while counterprotesters mock her, including one student who appears to be portraying a monkey and others yelling “lock her up.”
Law officers also advised counterprotesters to move away from the barriers.
In an online statement, the Phi Delta Theta fraternity general headquarters announced its awareness of the video and the revocation of one individual’s fraternity membership due to “the racist actions in the video.”
Following the incidents, protesters issued a statement, claiming they were faced with “blind reactionism that had little to do with the genocide we were protesting as well as our demands.”
