Congressman partly backtracks his praise of a campus conflict that included racist gestures

— A Republican congressman on Monday backtracked on some of his praise for a campus conflict that included a man who made monkey noises and gestures at a Black student who was protesting the Israel-Hamas war. “Frankly, I did not believe that to be the focal point of the video shared at the time, but I recognize that there certainly seems to be some potentially inappropriate behavior that none of us should seek to glorify.” A national fraternity, meanwhile, said it has removed one of its members for “racist actions” at the University of Mississippi as a large group of students heckled a smaller group of pro-Palestinian protesters. “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 national fraternity said in a statement Sunday. I hope racists like Mike Collins took note of that as well.” Collins said Monday that he admires students who stand up against “pro-Hamas, anti-American” protesters, including at schools such as the University of Georgia. He said some statements made on campus Thursday were “offensive and unacceptable.” In another statement Friday, Boyce said one “student conduct investigation” had been opened and university leaders were “working to determine whether more cases are warranted.” “To be clear, people who say horrible things to people because of who they are will not find shelter or comfort on this campus,” he said.