“I think that him getting six months wasn’t the worst thing that could’ve happened. He probably should have gotten a longer term. He didn’t actually bring physical harm to people, so I don’t think that serving a full term for that would have been justice, but the hate speech he did do did affect a lot of people and make them feel insecure.”
Braxton Dupuy (Photo)
junior biology major
“I think he should have gotten the maximum sentence. I do not know all the facts or everything that’s happened, but as someone who’s grown up around law, whose father’s a police officer in that town, and has had the privilege to know a lot of attorneys, prosecutors, I think a lot of times plea deals and maximum sentences are common, but I think that for this kind of stuff there’s no excuse.”
Nick Lewis
freshman banking and finance majors
“I think six months is kind of huge. To an extent, I can understand why they’d give him that much. You know the history the South has. When I was coming here from Nigeria, I was really worried. At some point I didn’t even want to come anymore. I guess one reason they’d give him jail time is to protect their image. It’s not fair. I think it should be reduced, but I can understand why they’d do it.”
Nma Nwene
junior exercise science major
“Leaving a noose on a statue may not seem worth jail time, but when you think about the effect it has on the university and how people outside the state and University culture perceive Mississippians and Ole Miss students, I definitely think it deserves a consequence.”
Ben Tedford
MBA student
“I think it was fair, but if he wasn’t the only one doing it, he shouldn’t be the only one punished. I think a fine could have also been appropriate, but with everything going on in the U.S. right now with race issues, I guess they want to show that’s not okay.”
Cheyenne Griffin
Junior psychology major
“Where I’m from, Williamson County, is such a bubble. You stay in the bubble and you think everyone is good and nothing bad happens, then you hear things like and you don’t know what to think about it.”
Mackenzie Steere
Freshman marketing major
“I don’t think his age is actually an issue. He’s grown up and he can take responsibility for what he does. We are all the same age and we’re not all doing things like that.”
Shamsa Al-Abri
Sophomore geological engineering major
“All in all, I kind of agree. I think the sentence was probably right. It seems a little harsh at first, but if you think about it, it’s probably best.”
Cassidy Holland
Sophomore political science major
“I think he should’ve gotten more. I think six months is too short of a sentence for that kind of action. I think he should have been charged with something that would have gotten him more time. To me, him doing something like that means he doesn’t want black people here. ”
Onyii Okoye
Senior biology major
“I think the sentence is appropriate because he went out and thought it would be a good idea to do that to a statue that means a lot to many different people.”
Kate Dilley
Freshman biology major
“I think he deserved punishment. Racism – that’s not alright. He didn’t actually harm anyone, so six months in prison? I mean that’s not my job, that’s the judge’s job. But he did the crime, so he should do the time.”
Ethan Cruse
Junior religious studies major
“He’s a child. He just made a mistake. I don’t feel like he was trying to do anything against our race. He’s a student. College kids do crazy things.”
Javontae Coleman
Freshman banking and finance major
