The University of Southern California has 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. Additional events are still planned for graduates.
The university announced the cancellation of the May 10 main-stage ceremony — which typically draws around 65,000 people — on Thursday, one day after more than 90 students were arrested on campus.
USC is among the dozens of colleges and universities where protests have unfolded on campus just weeks before commencement season; several have resulted in violence and arrests as police attempt to clear student encampments that have cropped up on school grounds.
The cancellation of the main ceremony also comes more than a week after USC officials announced that they would not have valedictorian Asna Tabassum, who is Muslim and had shared pro-Palestinian views, speak at commencement, citing vague concerns over security.
University officials had said news of Tabassum’s selection as graduation speaker had drawn responses that had “taken on an alarming tenor,” but they did not specify any threats. Amid backlash at the decision, the school also canceled a keynote commencement speech by film director Jon M. Chu, an alumnus of the school.
The university said Thursday that it would still host dozens of other commencement events, including traditional ceremonies at individual schools.
“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,” the university said in its update.
That may not satisfied all students.
“I think that much like every major university, they need to say that it’s for safety. It’s a farce. It’s not for safety. It’s to shut down the voice of the students,” USC graduate student Leah King said, adding that when USC has right-wing pundits on campus, the university can guarantee their safety.
King said she was talking to a grad student Thursday afternoon whose entire family is coming to Los Angeles from China and now the student is scrambling, trying to figure out where to tell their family to go.
Yvonne Condes in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Source link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/04/25/usc-cancels-main-commencement/