The mother of a Black Ole Miss freshman targeted by racist harassment says she regrets that one of the white students involved has left the university.
“I hate that she withdrew from the school,” the unidentified parent said Mornings. “You see what I’m saying, because the course of her life, that’s going to affect her too.”
The mother spoke Wednesday as the fallout continued from a November 6 doorbell-camera video that captured three white women making monkey noises and gestures outside an apartment shared by three Black University of Mississippi students. The incident, timestamped at approximately 8:37 p.m., has drawn national outrage since surfacing on social media.
Alaina Kunes, 18, a Wisconsin native who identified herself as one of the women in the clip, cited safety and harassment concerns in her decision to terminate her studies less than three months into the fall semester. The parent who spoke expressed sympathy despite the harm done to her own child.
“That’s somebody’s child, so that bothers me because I don’t like to see kids – you know, you just started, these babies, they’re 18. So I hate that for the young people. I wish people [would] be mindful and just think.”
One of the three Black freshmen who live in the residence, however, saw Kunes’s departure differently. “I feel it was like a good option for her,” the student said, describing the move as right for “her peace and safety.”
Kunes issued an apology through the Chicago law firm Gardiner Koch Weisberg & Wrona after acknowledging her presence in the video. “To the women I offended and to the Ole Miss community, I sincerely apologize,” she said in the statement.
She continued: “Before the incident on November 6, I never met the women involved and was unaware of their race, however, I recognize my actions were insensitive, inappropriate, and deeply harmful. I would have never intentionally made those noises or gestures toward a person of color.”
Kunes added that she had apologized directly to the women and asked for forgiveness. “I can never truly understand the pain I have caused them and it was never my intention,” she wrote. “These girls deserve to feel seen and understood and what I did is not a reflection of who I am trying to become.”
The statement also addressed consequences Kunes said she has faced. “Over the past several days, my family and I have received death threats and harassment. I am grateful for the authorities working to ensure our safety. As I intend to cooperate fully with the University’s investigation, I ask for privacy for my family.”
Kunes is the granddaughter of Gregg Kunes, owner of Kunes Auto Group, a company that operates approximately 50 dealerships across four Midwestern states. The two other women captured in the video have not been publicly identified.
The video showed two women approaching the apartment door, with the first beating her chest and making monkey sounds. A second woman repeated the gesture toward the camera while a third walked past. The footage sparked widespread condemnation after circulating online, prompting an active university investigation.
Shawnboda Mead, vice chancellor for student affairs at the University of Mississippi, called the clip “deeply troubling, hurtful, and unacceptable,” Mead said the behavior “does not reflect our university’s values or the kind of community we strive to be every day.” The university is following established processes to ensure a thorough review while prioritizing campus safety, Mead added, stating that “racism and actions that disparage people because of an aspect of their identity have no place in our campus community.”
The CBS Mornings interview marked the first time the targeted freshmen and one of their mothers have spoken publicly about the incident.