A University of Mississippi fraternity expelled a member who taunted a black protester with monkey noises as the university faces calls to expel him.
Finance student James ‘JP’ Staples was named by the university chapter of the NAACP as the student who was filmed jumping from foot to foot and growling like an ape at Jaylin Smith during an ugly confrontation on the university’s Oxford campus. .
Staples, 21, was expelled from a college fraternity on Friday because he condemned “racist actions contrary to the values of Phi Delta Theta and the Mississippi Alpha chapter.”
But black students are demanding that he be stripped of his place at the university, along with two members of the Kappa Alpha fraternity whom they accuse of racially abusing protesters.
“Those students who publicly spouted egregious and racist rhetoric, as well as exhibited disgusting and offensive behavior, NEED to be expelled from this university,” NAACP chapter president Megan Curry wrote. ‘I said what I said, and I mean it. REALLY.’
James Staples was filmed hopping from foot to foot and growling like an ape at Jaylin Smith.
The finance student has been expelled by his Phi Delta Theta chapter for his ‘racist actions’
Tempers flared on the leafy campus as a group of about 30 pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with more than 200 counterprotesters on Thursday.
Smith was bombarded with chants of ‘Lizzo’ and ‘lock her up’ after stepping forward to film the counter-protest as police attempted to keep the sides apart.
Video of the encounter was approvingly posted by Republican Rep. Mike Collins, who shared it with the caption “Ole Miss taking care of business.”
He was forced to do an abrupt 180-degree turn on Monday, suggesting Staples should seek “forgiveness,” as a backlash against the monkeys’ gestures spread.
“I understand and respect the comments that have been shared about a single individual during the Ole Mis protests,” he wrote.
“If that person is found to have treated another human being inappropriately because of their race, they should be punished appropriately and hopefully seek forgiveness,” he wrote.
Staples is a former high school football player from Plano, Texas, who is studying real estate and finance in college, where fees average $27,000 a year.
University President Glenn F. Boyce said the school had launched an investigation into the counterprotesters and that the behavior was “offensive, hurtful and unacceptable, including actions that conveyed hostility and racist overtones.”
The 21-year-old deleted his social media profiles, but was praised as an ideal role model in this 2021 Instagram post.
The former high school football player from Plano, Texas, was among about 200 counterprotesters who arrived and confronted 30 pro-Palestinian protesters on the Oxford campus.
Journalism student Jaylin Smith was taunted with chants of “Lizzo” and “lock her up” while filming counterprotesters.
The pro-Palestine protesters were eventually escorted from the venue after being outnumbered by rowdy counter-protesters.
Mississippi State Governor Tate Reeves shared a separate video of the counterprotest that he said “warms my heart.”
“Although student privacy laws prohibit us from commenting on any specific student, we have opened a student conduct investigation,” he added.
“We are working to determine if additional cases are warranted.”
The pro-Palestine protest in a fenced area of the university quad was just one of dozens of student actions that have spread to university campuses across the country.
More than 2,000 people have been arrested, including hundreds at New York University, USC and Columbia, as police moved to clear the encampments.
The White House on Thursday announced a series of new measures to protect Jewish students amid accusations that they have been subjected to anti-Semitic abuse by protesters.
The Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights said schools and universities would receive new guidance on protecting Jewish students, including examples of what constitutes anti-Semitism.
Smith, a journalism student at the university, accused police at the event of siding with counterprotesters.
“I’m defending my right to free speech and having things thrown at me, and the officers are putting their hands on me to make me back down,” he added.
The confrontation was the latest example of unrest following demonstrations of solidarity with Gaza on campuses. Pictured: California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers detain a protester while clearing a pro-Palestinian encampment after dispersal orders were given at UCLA on May 2, 2024.
Students illegally occupying Hamilton Hall at Columbia University were evicted by police on Tuesday.
Both protests in the state of Mississippi ended shortly after the confrontation without arrests.
The university said in a statement that it was “committed to supporting the rights of our students, faculty and staff to respectfully express their views and peacefully assemble as enshrined in the First Amendment.”
“Although today’s demonstration was passionate and several protesters and counter-protesters received warnings from authorities for their actions, there were no arrests or injuries and the demonstration ended peacefully.”