USC cancels main-stage graduation after anti-Israel campus occupation, citing safety concerns
The University of Southern California has canceled its main-stage graduation ceremony after an anti-Israel occupation took place on campus by students and outside activists.
The University of Southern California has canceled its main-stage graduation ceremony after an anti-Israel occupation took place on campus by students and outside activists.
USC made the announcement on Thursday, telling students in a message that new safety measures made preparation for the ceremony very difficult.
”With the new safety measures in place this year, the time needed to process the large number of guests coming to campus will increase substantially,” the announcement stated. “As a result, we will not be able to host the main stage ceremony that traditionally brings 65,000 students, families, and friends to our campus all at the same time and during short window from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.”
BREAKING: USC has cancelled its main graduation ceremony: pic.twitter.com/C1GjaOPQK1
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) April 25, 2024
The cancellation also comes after Asna Tabassum, was removed as the valedictorian speaker during the graduation ceremony.
According to the New York Times, USC said the decision to remove Tabassum as a speaker because of threats to disrupt the graduation. We Are Tov, a group that fights anti-Semitism, accused the individual of posting “anti-Semitic writings,” according to Fox News Digital.
Specifically, Tabassum’s Instagram account bio linked to a page that called Zionism a “racist settler-colonial ideology.”
Tabassum also allegedly called for the “complete abolition” of Israel.
USC said in the announcement that smaller graduation events would take place, and include students crossing the stage to get their degrees.
Police at the USC arrested 93 people and marked the end of an attempted anti-Israel occupation that mirrored the one ongoing at Columbia University.
According to the Daily Trojan, the USC Divest from Death Coalition on Wednesday began its “Gaza Solidarity Occupation” and says it will continue its encampment until the university agrees to its demands.
“We, the USC Divest from Death Coalition, establish our occupation most fundamentally in solidarity with the people of Palestine as they resist genocide and continue in their struggle for liberation,” the group wrote in a statement.
According to Fox News Digital, the Los Angeles Police Department got to campus at around 4 p.m. on Wednesday after protesters and outside agitators didn’t follow orders to disperse from the area.
[RELATED: Texas State troopers arrive at UT Austin occupation, start making arrests]
Capt. Kelly Muniz said in a press conference that each person taken into custody could be cited with a misdemeanor offense, which will be determined during the booking process.
Muniz said there was one arrest for assault with a deadly weapon, adding that most of the arrests were for trespassing.
In a post on X, USC wrote that the campus would remain closed until further notice to individuals not affiliated with USC.
