USC Cancels Graduation Commencement Following Anti-Israel Protests

We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

A statue of the school mascot, the Trojan, stands on the campus of the University of Southern California (USC) on March 6, 2007 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

OAN’s Sophia Flores
5:58 PM – Thursday, April 25, 2024

The University of Southern California (USC) has announced that it will no longer be holding a commencement ceremony for this year’s graduating class, due to safety concerns.

On Thursday, the Los Angeles-based university announced the cancellation of the May 10^th main-stage ceremony. In previous years, the celebration typically draws around 65,000 attendees.

This year, film director Jon M. Chu was set to give the now-cancelled keynote speech.

The main commencement was reportedly cancelled due to safety concerns stemming from the pro-Hamas demonstration, which resulted in 93 arrests that occurred on the campus on Wednesday. Since the demonstration incident, USC has also closed its campus “until further notice.”

While the university is no longer holding its typical large-scale graduation, it will still host dozens of smaller commencement ceremonies for each individual school at the college.

“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.

This is a major hit to the class of 2024, as the majority of those graduating did not have proper high school graduations as well since their 2020 graduations took place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts