The University of Southern California has canceled the official commencement portion of their graduation ceremony amid concerns of violence from anti-Israel protesters.
“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 university said in a statement Thursday.
Related: Columbia Protest Leader Says 'Zionists Don't Deserve to Live' In Live-streamed School Meeting
The school had already canceled the speech by this year’s class valedictorian, who is openly pro-Palestinian. Then, on Wednesday, the LAPD said they arrested more than 90 people during a protest on USC’s campus for trespassing, including one who’s been charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Numerous videos from the scene show fed-up cops, most of them Black and Latino, fighting to break up the illegal encampments that had been set up on the campus lawn and wrestling with students refusing to cooperate.
USC has had enough pic.twitter.com/N5NbOiKTXu
— Marina Medvin 🇺🇸 (@MarinaMedvin) April 24, 2024
One young lady took to TikTok to complain about not being able to go to her own school’s graduation, especially given that this year’s graduating class largely graduated from high school in 2020 and weren’t about to experience a normal high school graduation ceremony thanks to COVID shutdowns.
Here, a USC senior who was robbed of a high school graduation by the COVID Panic reacts to USC cancelling her college commencement because of an anti-Israel valedictorian and fear of protests…
— John Ziegler (@Zigmanfreud) April 26, 2024
This is the world that liberals want and are creating for her and her generation.😡🥲 pic.twitter.com/QhbTAfBBcp
Congratulations, leftists. You are why we can’t have nice things.
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Pro-Palestinian protesters perform weird string dance in “solidarity.”
— MRCTV (@mrctv) April 25, 2024
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