USC cancels main commencement ceremony as campus is roiled by protests
Source: Washington Post
The University of Southern California canceled its main commencement ceremony, citing new safety measures put in place in the days since the Los Angeles school has been rocked by student-led protests against the war in Gaza.
The university announced the cancellation of the May 10 main-stage ceremony Thursday, one day after more than 90 students were arrested on campus. USC is among the dozens of colleges and universities to have protests unfold on campus just weeks before commencement; several have resulted in violence and arrests as police attempt to clear student encampments that have cropped up on school grounds.
Thursdays cancellation of the main commencement ceremony also comes amid tensions after school officials recently announced that they would not have this years valedictorian, who is Muslim and had shared pro-Palestinian views, speak at commencement, citing vague concerns over security.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/04/25/usc-cancels-main-commencement/
twodogsbarking
(9,822 posts)BlueKota
(1,785 posts)Tetrachloride
(7,875 posts)Tetrachloride
(7,875 posts)LittleGirl
(8,291 posts)This is b.s.
OrangeJoe
(346 posts)We are going to be there for her commencement but I guess it's just going to be dinner with Mom & Dad kind of thing. One thing I've noticed is that the news reports all allude to some vague "anti-Semitism" charge against the speaker, without any details. So exactly what did she say or post that was so offensive?
Their new explanation is campus safety, but they also never say who has been threatening the school. Since the speaker pissed off the friends of Israel, then the security threats must be coming from them.
These officials have just insured that a whole new generation is going to question authority and mistrust the police. Heck of a job college administrators!
deurbano
(2,896 posts)She also got into Columbia, and my MIL just texted a few days ago to say how happy she was my daughter hadn't chosen Columbia, given the protests! (Oh, well.) My daughter was actually involved in an OT Dept. student protest against the removal of pro-Palestinian student voices from an online class project because a few students objected. (Those contributions to the project had been vetted and approved by the class instructor, so most students were outraged.)
Such administrative over-reaction across these universities... and I'm worried about the Chicago convention, too. (My older daughter is a delegate.)
Congrats on your daughter's graduation, and I'm so sorry for the cancellation. (My USC daughter was a 2020 high school grad, so I know something about cancellations.) Will there still be smaller, department specific ceremonies?
former9thward
(32,082 posts)As you put it.
The complaints focused on a link on Tabassums Instagram profile to a pro-Palestinian website that said, Zionism is a racist settler-colonialist ideology, and, One Palestinian state would mean Palestinian liberation and the complete abolishment of the state of Israel so that both Arabs and Jews can live together.
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-04-25/la-me-usc-commencement-canceled
That is not vague and it is certainly anti-Semitic.
LisaM
(27,835 posts)All she would say was that there were two sides to the issue and that's why she went on the website and forwarded it. She wouldn't even answer a direct question about a two-state solution when asked.
LauraInLA
(426 posts)those supporting her. And it snowballed from there.
LittleGirl
(8,291 posts)JohnSJ
(92,418 posts)of the protesters about the upcoming election, and this protester responded, enjoy Trump
What I would say to that jackass, no you will pay for the consequences of a trump presidency.
Perhaps AOC said it best when asked the about the protests and the upcoming presidential election. She responded the most important issue right now is preservation of our democracy, and that means electing President Biden.
sheshe2
(83,925 posts)The fact that they don't seem to care or even comprehend what a future will actually be for THEM under TSF. They are the younger generation, this is their future. WTF are they doing?
All this convinces me that they are trolls and dayum well funded. Putin is pleased.
Prairie Gates
(1,066 posts)Imagine spending $320,000 for a four year degree from USC and not even getting a graduation ceremony because the speaker committee didn't vet their pick.
What a fucking clown show.