A University of Mississippi fraternity member has been shown the door by his fellow brothers after a video of him appearing to make “monkey noises” and gestures at an anti-Israel protester last week went viral online.
A protest popped up on the Ole Miss campus on Thursday as the school joined others in becoming ground zero for the cultural clash regarding the ongoing war on the Islamic terror group Hamas in Gaza.
Leftist students and other agitators have taken over campuses nationwide, disrupting classes and graduations.
In Oxford last Thursday, protesters showed up in force, but they were met with opposition.
One clip that was posted on X showed a woman, who was identified as graduate student Jaylin Smith, being mocked by counter-protesters.
This video from Ole Miss is beautiful, but guys, please put away the phones. Be in the moment when you’re mocking the Hamas loving fat girl. pic.twitter.com/0ESdQ6a99Q
— Richard Hanania (@RichardHanania) May 3, 2024
About 9 seconds into the video, a young man can be seen on the right side of the frame, making a “hoo-hoo-hoo” noise and jumping up and down. The young man in the clip was connected to the Ole Miss chapter of Phi Delta Theta, and his actions were interpreted by many to be racist.
Should this student have been removed from the fraternity?
Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves shared a separate video of many Ole Miss students singing patriotically and said the students’ action warmed his heart.
A local media member shared the video of the exchange between Smith and the fraternity member and targeted Reeves.
Mississippi Free Press editor Ashton Pittman commented, “Is this heart warming?”
A white Ole Miss frat boy dances like a monkey and makes monkey noises near a Black woman who was protesting for Palestine.
Is this heart warming? (Video: @StaceyJSpiehler)pic.twitter.com/MgKqIVI3DH https://t.co/0FsAamDMPw
— Ashton Pittman (@ashtonpittman) May 3, 2024
Far-left former ESPN host Jemele Hill was among those who expressed outrage online and shared Pittman’s post.
Hill shared the video and commented, “That fraternity’s national leadership needs to be contacted immediately and that frat should be barred from campus.”
1) What fraternity does he represent? That fraternity’s national leadership needs to be contacted immediately and that frat should be barred from campus.
2) We have recently seen endless conversations and action items created about antisemitism, but I’m guessing that same energy… https://t.co/JvuTXYaMqK
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) May 3, 2024
On Sunday, Phi Delta Theta issued a statement on its national website announcing the young man, whose actions its leadership called “racist,” had been kicked out of the fraternity last Friday.
The fraternity said, “Phi Delta Theta General Headquarters is aware of the video regarding the student protest at the University of Mississippi. The racist actions in the video were those of an individual and are antithetical to the values of Phi Delta Theta and the Mississippi Alpha chapter. The responsible individual was removed from membership on Friday, May 3.”
The student was also scolded by the Ole Miss Associate Student Body, which issued its own statement about last week’s incident.
“Yesterday, we observed a demonstration on our campus — a place for the expression of diverse viewpoints, protected by our constitutional First Amendment Rights,” the group said in a statement. “Yet, amidst this expression, unacceptable remarks were made that departed from our cherished values.”
