UNITED STATES—On April 26, the University of Southern California (USC) announced that the main 2024 commencement ceremony will be canceled. Due to the extreme safety measures in place following the Gaza War Pro-Palestine protests happening on campuses nationwide, USC will not be able to manage the crowd. USC draws an estimated 65,000 attendees to the annual commencement ceremony.
In a public statement, USC faculty indicated there will be other celebration activities this year other than commencement.
“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.”
Many of this year’s students were 2020 High School graduates whose high school graduation ceremonies were also canceled due to the shutdowns and precautions taken during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the March 24, Pro-Palestine protests and demonstrations that took place at Columbia University located at 116th and Broadway, New York, NY, sparked a wave of protests at college and University campuses nationwide in protest of the war in Israel at Gaza.
Student groups such as Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of California, Los Angeles, along with an upsurge of Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS). The pro-Palestine groups setting up camps that are overwhelming campuses in a way that has not been seen since the anti-war demonstration at Kent State riots that took place on May 4, 1970.
The student-led Kent State demonstration was done in an attempt to force then-President Richard Nixon to end the Vietnam War. Politically involved students peacefully protesting a war that was never declared by the U.S. Congress ended after nine Kent State students were injured and four others killed by the U.S. Army National Guard attempting to work crowd control.
A statement by the U.S. Army National Guard that may be seen in full text on the Kent State website, begins like this.
“In retrospect, the tragedy of May 4, 1970, should not have occurred. The students may have believed that they were right in continuing their mass protest in response to the Cambodian invasion, even though this protest followed the posting and reading by the university of an order to ban rallies and an order to disperse. These orders have since been determined by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to have been lawful.”
Thirty-four years later, the President of Columbia University of New York, Minouche Shafik made multiple statements spanning from April 5-April 23, on the Columbia University website. The full texts of all statements are readily available on the University webpage.
On April 16, Shafik wrote, “Antisemitism and calls for genocide have no place at a university. My priority has been the safety and security of our community, but that leaves plenty of room for robust disagreement and debate”.
On April 18, “This morning, I had to make a decision that I hoped would never be necessary. I have always said that the safety of our community was my top priority and that we needed to preserve an environment where everyone could learn in a supportive context. Out of an abundance of concern for the safety of Columbia’s campus, I authorized the New York Police Department to begin clearing the encampment from the South Lawn of Morningside campus that had been set up by students in the early hours of Wednesday morning.”
On April 24, a Pro Palestine demonstration overwhelmed the University of Southern California campus. USC closed the campus at 1:45 p.m. Authorities attempted to clear the campus of protestors by 6:00 p.m. resulting in altercations between protestors and authorities that ended in multiple arrests. Reports indicate that approximately 100 peaceful protesters remained.
California and New York were not the only states affected by the protests on Campus. Texas Governor, Greg Abbott who was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time magazine, warned protesters at UT Austin, that Antisemitism would not be tolerated.
“Antisemitism is never acceptable in Texas, and we will do everything we can to fight it,” said Governor Abbott. “The State of Texas stands with Israel and the Jewish community, and we must escalate our efforts to protect against antisemitism at Texas colleges and universities and across our state. Across the country, acts of antisemitism have grown in number, size, and danger to the Jewish community since Hamas’ deadly attack on October 7. Texas took immediate action to protect Jewish schools, synagogues, and other key locations.
Many Texas colleges and universities also acted quickly to condemn antisemitism, but some radical organizations on our campuses engaged in acts that have no place in Texas. Now, we must work to ensure that our college campuses are safe spaces for members of the Jewish community.”
The Governor’s statement follows an Executive order executed by Abbott on March 27, 2024.
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