The University of Mississippi opened a conduct investigation Saturday against at least one student after a video went viral showing a group of students harassing a pro-Palestine protester on campus last week.
Chancellor Glenn Boyce said the chants and actions of counterprotesters on Thursday contained “hostility and racist overtones.” The video showed a group of white men in front of a lone black woman taking part in the protest, with the men dancing, booing and chanting. A man imitated a monkey.
“From yesterday’s demonstration, university leaders are aware that some statements made were offensive, harmful and unacceptable, including actions that conveyed hostility and racist overtones,” Boyce wrote.
“To be clear, people who say horrible things to others because of who they are will not find shelter or comfort on this campus,” he added.
Pro-Palestinian protesters at Ole Miss have been significantly outnumbered by counterprotesters as campus demonstrations have spread to hundreds of colleges across the country in recent weeks.
Rep. Mike Collins (R-Ga.) shared the video of the harassment last week, saying it showed “Ole Miss taking care of business.”
The NAACP filed a complaint with congressional leaders on Saturday about Collins’ conduct, CNN reported.
“These actions conducted by a member of the House of Representatives, regardless of intent, legitimize and propagate racism and undermine the principles of equality and justice that our government is sworn to uphold,” the letter says.
The confrontation adds to Ole Miss’ long history of racial conflict. Deadly riots broke out when the school first enrolled a black student in 1962, and the university has long been associated with Confederate imagery. The schools surname it is also derived from a racist term associated with slavery.
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