Counter-Protesters Overwhelm Pro-Palestinian Demonstration on Ole Miss Quad in Viral Confrontation

From yesterday's demonstration, university leaders are aware that some statements made were offensive, hurtful, and unacceptable, including actions that conveyed hostility and racist overtones. While student privacy laws prohibit us from commenting on any specific student, we have opened one student conduct investigation. We are working to determine whether more cases are warranted. 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. To be clear, people who say horrible things to people because of who they are will not find shelter or comfort on this campus. All of us have a responsibility to take seriously our commitment to upholding a safe and welcoming campus environment. Behaviors and comments that demean people because of their race or ethnicity marginalize them and undermine the values that are fundamental to a civil and safe society. While we are a modern university with a vibrant community of more than 25,000 people, it is important to acknowledge our challenging history, and incidents like this can set us back. It is one reason we do not take this lightly and cannot let unacceptable behavior of a few speak for our institution or define us.