How the Israel-Hamas war led to USC’s canceled graduation ceremony
Amid debates over its decision to cancel a speech by its Muslim valedictorian and nationwide campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war, the University of Southern California announced a major change to its graduation plans.
The school will no longer hold a main stage graduation ceremony. The annual event typically brings together around 65,000 people, including graduates and their families.
As when they canceled a speech by valedictorian Asna Tabassum, USC cited security concerns to explain the decision.
“We understand that this is disappointing; however, we are adding many new activities and celebrations to make this commencement academically meaningful, memorable, and uniquely USC, including places to gather with family, friends, faculty, and staff, the celebratory releasing of the doves, and performances by the Trojan Marching Band,” the school announced Thursday.
Student protests over Israel-Palestine
USC is one of several schools across the country dealing with large protests right now.
Students are erecting tents in central locations on their campuses to protest Israel’s actions in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
“Students at Columbia became the first to set up an encampment on campus. Those at other schools, from the University of Michigan to Cornell University in New York, then began to erect their own tents in shows of opposition to the Israel-Hamas war and to urge their schools to divest from companies that do business with Israel,” NBC News reported.
On Wednesday, Andrew T. Guzman, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at USC, released a statement on protests at USC, after protesters clashed with security personnel.
“(Protesters’) actions have escalated to include acts of vandalism, defacing campus buildings and structures, as well as physical confrontation that threatens the safety of our officers and campus community. As a result, we have closed the campus gates and are taking action to restrict growth of the protest and keep the rest of the campus calm. Until further notice, we are restricting unauthorized visitors from entering campus,” he wrote, noting that many of the protesters did not seem to be affiliated with USC.
Although USC is the first school to cancel its main graduation ceremony amid the ongoing protests, NBC News reported that students elsewhere fear similar announcements.
“Schools across the country where protests have flared up are keeping mum about whether they will adjust or outright cancel their ceremonies, but some students said they feared a domino effect,” NBC News reported.
Many college graduates this year missed out on high school graduation ceremonies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the article noted.
