A Viral Incident At Ole Miss A Fundraiser Built Around Defiance And A Question Larger Than One Campus What Are We Willing To Excuse And Finance
An Editorial By Steven D Mills Publisher On The Dial
A camera captured a moment outside a student apartment at the University of Mississippi. The video traveled across the country. Then the argument began—not only about what the footage showed, but about what it meant, who should answer for it, and whether anyone should face consequences.
But one question cuts through the noise:
What happens when a racial controversy becomes a fundraising opportunity—and an apology is framed as surrender?
That question deserves serious attention. Not because every accusation on social media is true. Not because anyone should be condemned without a fair process. And not because a viral video tells us everything we need to know.
It deserves attention because the conduct described in connection with this incident carries a painful history—and because a fundraising campaign reportedly tied its support to a particular posture: resist apologizing, resist backing down.
If that framing is accurate, then this is bigger than one campaign. It is a test of what our culture rewards.
The Video Was Disturbing The Response Raises A Deeper Question
On November 6, a Ring doorbell camera reportedly recorded three young women walking outside an apartment occupied by University of Mississippi students, who the news identify as African-American. Two appeared to make monkey-like noises and gestures—conduct that evokes a long and degrading history of racial mockery.
The video spread widely. The university condemned the behavior and announced an investigation.
One student, Alaina Kunes, later issued a public apology through her attorneys. She denied intending to target anyone because of race, while acknowledging that her actions were hurtful and inappropriate.
Those facts—and what remains disputed—should be handled carefully. A university investigation matters. Due process matters. So does the warning that someone was incorrectly identified online. No one should mistake rumor for proof or use a controversy as permission to threaten, harass, or target people.
But the public response has also included a GiveSendGo campaign titled Stand with Lauren, organized by Tom Hennessey. The campaign identifies Lauren Mayfield as another person involved in the controversy and argues that she did nothing wrong. Its organizer’s stated position, as described in the material provided for this editorial, casts apology as surrender and says the fundraiser could be canceled if Mayfield apologizes or rejects his support.
That is the part America should not shrug off.
If remorse can cost someone public support, what exactly are donors being asked to reward?
An apology is not a verdict. It does not settle every question of responsibility. It does not eliminate the need for a fair investigation. But neither is an apology an act of weakness by definition. It can be the first honest step toward understanding the harm, accepting responsibility, and doing better.
When we turn that step into something to discourage—and attach money to the discouragement—we should ask ourselves what lesson we are teaching.
Look Beyond The Loudest Names Remember Who Was On The Other Side Of The Door
As donations rise and commentators argue over politics, punishment, and public outrage, the students who experienced the incident risk disappearing from the center of the story.
They were students in their home. Their doorway was not a stage. Their presence was not an invitation to revive a dehumanizing stereotype. They deserved to be treated with dignity before any camera began recording—and they deserve to be heard now, without being reduced to props in someone else’s political argument.
The people most easily lost in a viral controversy are often the people who were hurt first.
We can debate consequences. We can insist on fairness. We can protect people from harassment and false accusations. But we must not let those debates erase the basic point: conduct that humiliates or degrades people because of race should be taken seriously, not waved away as harmless entertainment.
History Is Not A Chapter We Finish And Close
In 1962, James Meredith entered the University of Mississippi and helped change the course of American history. His determination to attend that institution confronted a system that had denied Black Americans equal educational opportunity. His enrollment came amid violence, federal intervention, and resistance to a principle that should never have been controversial: a Black American deserved the same chance to learn as anyone else.
Ole Miss today is not the same institution it was then. The university has changed, and generations of students have helped move it forward. That progress is real.
But progress is not a permanent inheritance. It is a responsibility renewed by every generation.
We cannot honor the courage it took to challenge racial injustice while making excuses for conduct that diminishes another person’s humanity.
This is not a demand that young people never make mistakes. It is a demand that we leave room for truth, growth, and accountability. Those things belong together. If we say mistakes can be learned from, we must also be willing to name the harm and take the people affected seriously.
Defending Someone’s Future Is Not The Same As Defending Every Choice
Tom Hennessey is entitled to express his views. He may argue that a person is being treated unfairly, that the facts are incomplete, or that consequences should be proportionate. Those arguments deserve to be made openly and assessed on their merits.
But there is a difference between defending someone’s right to a fair process and encouraging them to reject accountability. There is a difference between resisting mob judgment and treating an apology as defeat.
A young adult can behave offensively and still have a future. A person can make a serious mistake without being defined forever by it. An apology can be sincere and meaningful. None of those truths requires financial encouragement to remain defiant.
I am a pastor. I believe in forgiveness. I am a father. I believe young people can learn, change, and make amends. And as the publisher of On The Dial, I believe the public has a responsibility to challenge conduct and arguments that threaten the dignity of others.
Those beliefs do not contradict one another.
Forgiveness without honesty can become avoidance. Accountability without compassion can become cruelty. Justice without human dignity is not justice.
We need all three.
And we should be clear: no one involved deserves violence, threats, or harassment. No one should be condemned on the strength of an unverified online identification. Fairness must apply to everyone—including people whose conduct we find deeply troubling.
But fairness is not silence. And freedom of expression does not mean freedom from criticism.
This Is Not A Left Versus Right Test It Is A Test Of Our Standards
It is tempting to sort every controversy into familiar political teams. That is easy. It is also a way to avoid the harder question.
Human dignity does not belong to one party. Racism is not wrong only when it comes from a political opponent. Degrading conduct does not become acceptable because it is defended by someone whose politics we share. And accountability should not depend on who happens to be standing in front of the camera.
There is no political exemption for dehumanizing behavior.
America already has enough division. We do not need to teach another generation that the fastest way to gain attention, sympathy, or money is to turn every controversy into a partisan performance.
Our Response Should Build Something Better Not Simply Shout Louder
On The Dial is exploring a fundraising response called The Other Side of the Door, intended to support racial-justice education, advocacy, and community engagement in Mississippi through an established nonprofit. No contributions should be accepted until the recipient and financial arrangements have been confirmed and disclosed.
That transparency is not a footnote. It is a responsibility.
If a campaign raises money around the idea that refusing to apologize deserves support, we can answer with something more constructive: education, listening, opportunity, and respect. Not revenge. Not humiliation. Not an effort to destroy young lives. A commitment to help prevent the next incident—and to ensure the people most affected are not drowned out by the outrage around them.
The aim should not be to win the internet’s angriest argument. It should be to make the next conversation, the next campus, and the next doorway safer and more humane.
America What Will Your Attention And Your Money Reward
I invite Mr. Tom Hennessey, organizer of the GiveSendGo for Lauren Mayfield, to explain why his fundraiser treats an apology as something to discourage. I invite GiveSendGo to explain how it approaches campaigns that encourage that position. And I expect the University of Mississippi to conduct a thorough, fair investigation that protects the students affected and the rights of those under review.
But the question reaches far beyond those parties.
Before donating, sharing an angry post, or choosing a political side, ask what your participation encourages.
Money can help someone rebuild. It can open doors to education. It can support healing and justice. But money cannot make humiliation honorable, erase history, or purchase moral innocence. And no amount of fundraising should persuade us that admitting harm is weakness.
A society is measured not only by what it condemns, but by what it chooses to reward.
We can reward defiance for its own sake—or encourage the courage to take responsibility. We can turn a painful incident into political entertainment—or use it to teach, listen, and repair. We can treat history as a weapon—or learn from the people who fought to make a more just future possible.
As publisher of On The Dial, my position is clear. No one’s life should be destroyed over a mistake. Threats, harassment, and public cruelty are not justice. But racial degradation does not become acceptable because someone calls it a joke. And an apology should not be treated as surrender simply because accountability is uncomfortable.
No student should have to wonder whether their humanity will be respected at their own front door.
No young person should inherit the hatred earlier generations struggled to overcome.
And no fundraising campaign should convince us that racial humiliation is a cause worth celebrating.
History will not ask whether we found clever ways to defend the indefensible. It will ask whether we had the courage to stand for something better.
Racism is not a fundraising strategy. Human dignity is not a political bargaining chip. And an apology is not surrender.
America, we can do better. We must do better. If we believe in the promise of this country, we have no choice but to try.
A Personal Note From The Publisher
Before closing, I want to share something deeply personal. I have survived cancer twice, undergone a bone marrow transplant, and now find myself fighting for my life because of end-stage renal disease. I depend on dialysis while searching for an extraordinarily rare compatible kidney. With a cPRA of 99.9999%, finding a suitable donor is an enormous challenge, but I refuse to surrender to the odds.
Millions Have Seen My Story. I’m Searching For One Person Who Could Save My Life.
If you would consider becoming a living kidney donor, please visit my website to learn more about my journey and how you might be able to help:
Find My One:
https://FindMyOne.org
If you would like to help with the overwhelming medical expenses, dialysis costs, and travel associated with my search for a transplant, please consider supporting the GoFundMe organized by Josh Liljenquist on my behalf:
Help Pastor Steven Fight For His Life:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-pastor-steven-fight-for-his-life-p74hx
And if you cannot donate, please share these links. Somewhere in this world is a person who may be compatible with me, and every share brings me one step closer to finding that individual.
I have spent much of my life trying to make a difference for others. Today, I find myself humbly asking others to help make a difference for me.
Thank you for your prayers, your kindness, and your willingness to help save a life.
Steven D. Mills, D.Min.
Publisher, On The Dial
Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church Of Garden City, Kansas
#DoYouSeeMe #LoveOutLoud
Sources And Documentation
- Original GiveSendGo fundraiser, Stand with Lauren
- University of Mississippi official statement
- Alaina Kunes’s statement through legal counsel
- Mississippi Today, “Students and Parents Demand Accountability”
#OleMiss #UniversityOfMississippi #TomHennessey #LaurenMayfield #AlainaKunes #GiveSendGo #Racism #RacialDiscrimination #CivilRights #HumanDignity #Accountability #RacialJustice #SocialJustice #CampusRacism #Mississippi #JamesMeredith #BlackStudents #CollegeStudents #FundraisingControversy #AmericanSociety #StevenDMills #OnTheDial #PublishersEditorial