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‘Unaware Of Their Race’: White Student Hounded Out Of SEC School Over Monkey Taunts Says The Whole Thing Was A Misunderstanding
Alaina Kunes, an 18-year-old University of Mississippi student, apologised after doorbell-camera footage showed her and two other white students making monkey noises and gestures outside an apartment where Black students lived. Kunes said she had not known the residents’ race and did not intend racist taunts; the incident prompted a university investigation and drew widespread attention online.
Kunes told the residents she was sorry and said the group had repeated the behaviour at four other doors, according to the article. One resident said only their video had been shared, while her roommate said one of the other students continued making gestures during the apology. Kunes later withdrew from the university, issued a public apology through her lawyer and said her family had faced threats and harassment.
In short
- Kunes apologised and said she did not know the residents were Black.
- She said the group had repeated the behaviour at four other doors.
- Kunes withdrew as the university investigates.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The monkey noises and gestures outside Black students’ home could reasonably be experienced as racist intimidation, whatever the students’ stated intent, and the reported repetition at several doors may have made the conduct feel less like an isolated mistake. The university had grounds to investigate and the residents had reason to expect a sincere apology and accountability; lack of knowledge about their race does not erase the impact.
The case against
Kunes’s account that she did not know the residents’ race and did not intend a racist taunt is relevant to judging her motives, even though it cannot settle how the conduct affected them. A proportionate response should distinguish intent, impact and the findings of a fair university investigation, while recognising that threats and harassment against Kunes or her family are not justified by the incident.
Explained simply
The University of Mississippi is a public university in the southern United States, in a region where racial segregation and discrimination have a long history. Black and white students now share its campus, but disputes involving race can carry particular weight because of that past.
Monkey noises and gestures directed at Black people are widely understood as racist insults. In this case, the students who lived at the apartment were Black, while Kunes said she had not known their race; what the group intended and how residents experienced the behaviour are therefore central to the dispute.
The incident involves the students who made the gestures, the residents who received them and the university, which can investigate conduct by its students. It matters because it raises questions about how universities respond to behaviour perceived as racist, and how people involved are affected when an incident spreads widely online.