Protests Persist at Universities During Graduation
Protests Persist at Universities- At Virginia Commonwealth University, when Governor Glenn Youngkin was giving a speech at graduation, lots of students stood up and left while he was still talking.
Protests kept happening, and new camps were set up at universities all over the country while graduation ceremonies were happening on Saturday. These protests have been going on for weeks in support of Palestine, and almost 3,000 people have been arrested, according to weeklywakeup News.
Many students left the Virginia Commonwealth University ceremony when Governor Glenn Youngkin started speaking. You can see it in a video posted on X.
Last week, some people were arrested at the school when police removed camps set up on college campuses. Now, VCU has announced on its website that any disruptions during the graduation ceremony are not allowed.
Student groups, like the VCU chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, went ahead with a “silent walkout” to protest against Youngkin’s policies and his involvement in the arrests of students supporting Palestine in April.
On Saturday, students wore graduation clothes and walked quietly to the back of the Greater Richmond Convention Center. Some people in the crowd cheered loudly when they saw them.
The university’s student newspaper, The Commonwealth Times, explained in a post on X that students walked out to protest Governor Glenn Youngkin being the main speaker.
A video on X showed a bunch of people, including graduates, outside a big building chanting and holding signs. One sign said, “No regular graduation.”
Once the ceremony started, the school said people couldn’t come back in if they left the convention center.
The university didn’t want to say anything on Saturday.
The University of Southern California in Los Angeles decided to cancel its big graduation ceremony because of worries about student protests. Instead, they spread out the celebrations across a whole week. But there’s been some controversy. They decided not to let Asna Tabassum, a Muslim student, give her speech as valedictorian. This happened because a couple of groups, who support Israel and are Jewish, complained about some of the things she posted on her Instagram supporting Palestine.
USC Provost Andrew Guzman explained they called off Tabassum’s speech due to worries about safety, especially with tensions from the Middle East conflict.
Tabassum, who believed the university’s choice was secretly racist, proudly walked across the stage at the graduation ceremony on Friday night. The crowd cheered loudly for her, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Joel Curran, who’s in charge of communications, told the newspaper that the event was happy and full of celebration, without any interruptions.
At a graduation ceremony in Claremont, California, students at Pitzer College waved flags from Palestine. They wore special scarves called “keffiyeh stoles” and gave the flags to President Strom Thacker as they shook his hand after getting their diplomas.
At UC Berkeley, protests interrupted graduation ceremonies on Friday and Saturday. When Sydney Roberts, the student body president, spoke to her classmates on Saturday, some people in the crowd started chanting.
Afterward, around 20 students got up and held signs and flags while shouting “Free Palestine!” Security guards then took them to the back of the place, as per the San Francisco Chronicle.
About 300 other graduates stood up and went to a different part of the venue. They started chanting, which made some other people start chanting “Kick them out.”
At UC Berkeley’s law school graduation on Friday, some students caused a disturbance by taking off their graduation gowns to reveal white shirts with “UC Divest” written on them, as reported by the Chronicle. The university responded by saying that the disruption didn’t really affect the ceremony. They still managed to celebrate the students’ achievements, and the ceremony went on as planned without having to end early.
On Saturday, there will be ceremonies for the Wharton Executive MBA Program at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as ceremonies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Texas at Austin.
Early on Friday morning, police in special gear came to the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. They were there to arrest and take away people who didn’t leave even after being told to. Nine of the arrested people were students, and the other 24 weren’t connected to the school.
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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, like many others, added more safety rules. They said they won’t allow any disturbances. To get into Kenan Stadium, graduates need to show their student ID. They reminded students about laws protecting free speech. They also said they’d take action against anyone who disrupts someone else’s free speech.
The school’s website says, “This also applies to protests that make it hard for others to hear a speaker.” The University supports peaceful protests but doesn’t allow protests that disrupt its operations. Anyone, like students or staff, can speak out, but they can’t cause big disruptions.
The school, where protests have happened and people have been arrested, said that if you don’t do what they ask, you might get arrested.
Just before the graduation ceremony on Saturday evening, some people who support Palestine painted and wrote on a building at the campus. They used red paint and chalk to leave handprints and messages saying “UNC is responsible for bloodshed.” They also painted the steps of the South Building red.
A new camp popped up on UNC’s campus last Saturday, according to WRAL. People set up tents and held signs saying “Stop Genocide” and “End the Siege.”
On Saturday, some people organized a special graduation for students who got suspended after a protest two weeks ago. This happened as reported by WRAL news.
The President of the University of Texas at Austin, Jay Hartzell, is in trouble because he asked state troopers to arrest protestors. He made a video saying that the 2024 class, which has around 10,800 graduates, will have their graduation ceremony. But he also said that any disruptions during the ceremony won’t be tolerated.
UT didn’t mention if they were adding more security for the celebration. They gave a clear guide about what bags are allowed and what things you can’t bring. Brian Davis, who talks about problems and emergencies for UT, said they’ve had these rules before for other graduations, but this year they’re explaining them more.
A few people wearing scarves called keffiyehs were walking outside a place called Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. They were holding signs asking for divestment and freedom for Palestinians.
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