One of the Ole Miss students at the center of a racism controversy has become the subject of a newly launched fundraising campaign after being filmed mocking Black students outside their apartment.
The video was posted on TikTok by fellow Ole Miss student Jakirya Metcalf and appears to show two of the three white women walking up to the apartment entrance. One of them can then be seen pounding her chest while making monkey-like noises, before the second woman joins her in imitating the sounds.
According to reports, they live in the apartment directly above Metcalf and her two Black roommates.
The university has since responded to the backlash. Speaking to The New York Post, a spokesperson confirmed that officials are aware of the footage and have begun looking into the incident.
“The university has reached out to those targeted by the actions to share information, resources, and support,’ the rep said.
“We are committed to maintaining a safe and welcoming environment for all of our students, faculty, staff, and visitors and will follow our processes to ensure the well-being and safety of our community.”
Ole Miss ring camera video
One of the students involved, Alaina Kunes, has spoken out following the incident, calling her behavior “insensitive, inappropriate and deeply harmful” in a statement to Action News 5. The University of Mississippi has confirmed she is “no longer a student” there, and according to NBC News, she withdrew from the university herself.
“I would have never intentionally made those noises or gestures toward a person of color,” she said.
“I have apologized to the women and I pray they will forgive me. I can never truly understand the pain I have caused them and it was never my intention.” She went on: “These girls deserve to feel seen and understood and what I did is not a reflection of who I am trying to become.”
Kunes also said she had been harassed after the video went viral.
“As I intend to cooperate fully with the University’s investigation, I ask for privacy for my family,” she said. “I understand the seriousness of this situation and remain committed to taking responsibility and learning from this embarrassing ordeal.”
Now, a bizarre fundraising campaign has emerged in support of another woman identified in connection with the incident, Lauren Mayfield. The fundraiser appears aimed at persuading her to stand by her actions rather than issue an apology.
Fundraiser set up so student ‘doesn’t apologize’
In the statement accompanying the GiveSendGo fundraiser, its creator, Tom Hennessey, wrote: “She did nothing wrong. She did not assault anyone. She did not break any law. She made noises in a public walkway. The rest is a campus bureaucracy and online mob treating a juvenile stunt as a hate crime because the residents were black. The same institutions that excuse actual violence, riots, and anti-White rhetoric when the identities flip are now treating this as grounds for expulsion, doxxing, death threats, and career destruction.”
He went on: “This is the pattern. Notice something ordinary or make a crude joke, get identified, then the full apparatus activates: university investigation, kosher media framing as ‘racist incident,’ pressure to apologize and self-flagellate, and professional/social ruin if you refuse. Lauren has so far refused. That is the only reason this matters.”
The fundraiser is said to: “Cover lost income or opportunities, and anything else required so she does not have to fold. No apologies. No ‘I didn’t know.’ No bending the knee. Donate so the next girl (or guy) who gets the same treatment has a reason not to issue the scripted statement.”
The statement concludes: “I reserve the right to cancel this fundraiser if Lauren disavows our support and bends the knee.”
At the time of writing, donations to the fundraiser have reached $56,053.
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