USC Surrenders to Pro-Hamas Protesters, Cancels Graduation

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The University of Southern California (USC) canceled its commencement ceremony. It blames security concerns because of pro-Hamas protests on campus.

It’s cowardice. It’s incompetency. It’s unacceptable. 

University officials said there is not enough time to put new security measures in place for the ceremony that is expected to draw an audience of 65,000 people. The ceremony is on May 10. 

Other traditional graduation ceremonies will still take place because they are smaller events, including individual school ceremonies. 

Protests have escalated on the Los Angeles campus, resulting in dozens of arrests on Wednesday. Protesters were charged with suspicion of trespassing. 

Last week university officials canceled the speech of valedictorian Asna Tabassum. She is a Muslim student who published antisemitic and anti-Israel posts on her social media accounts. USC officials expressed concerns over safety as criticism grew over the choice of speaker. Instead of dealing with it, the school canceled her invitation to speak. She competed with about 100 others for the recognition as valedictorian. The people making the selection knew who they were choosing. 

The next step USC took, after canceling Tabassum, was to cancel all outside speakers for the commencement ceremony. If she doesn’t deliver her speech, then no one else would be allowed to speak. 

This escalation was going the wrong way. The school is taking a cowardly way out. Are we to believe that a school that size and with the resources it has cannot figure out and organize a plan to secure a large audience for its main commencement ceremony? About 93 people were arrested on Wednesday during a protest. They did not leave when they were told to disperse, so they were arrested on trespassing charges.

Think about the students who are not among those who are involved in wishing death to Israel and death to America. They will be denied a moment for which they have worked for four years. Their parents will be denied the experience of watching their child’s college graduation. Many of the graduating seniors this year also missed out on high school graduation ceremonies because of COVID-19 lockdowns. Imagine missing out on two important milestones in life due to no fault of your own. 

USC released a statement as the cancelation was announced. 

“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 a statement Thursday.

Faculty have been joining in with the students claiming allegiance to Hamas in the protests. Professors have been indoctrinating college students for years with anti-Israel propaganda. Democrat politicians join in, too. Yesterday in Austin, a Democrat congressman spoke at a rally for protesters to encourage them to continue. The American Association of University Professors delivered a statement of no confidence in UT President Jay Hartzell, too. These are supposed to be the grown-ups on campus.

We are in a dark and dangerous place. There is a growing movement that supports the elimination of Israel and the extermination of Jews. What happened to never again? 

Jewish students are being told to go to online learning and avoid going to class. Instead of stepping in and stopping demonstrators from shutting down campuses and shutting out Jewish students, university officials are caving to the mobs. That is why the demonstrations are growing, not winding down. 

Some university officials are talking about negotiating with the demonstrators. Columbia University extended the deadline to end the demonstrations by 48 hours. Now the president is talking about negotiating with students. What is there to negotiate? The students demand that America stop supporting Israel, the only steadfast ally of the United States in the region. This is not America’s war, it is Israel’s war for the nation’s survival. 

Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona sides with the protesters. That is not a surprise. He has moved the department farther to the left. He is part of the progressive left, the blame America first crowd. 

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said the ability to embrace student voices and different perspectives was a hallmark of the nation’s growth but warned authorities wouldn’t tolerate hate, discrimination or threats of violence.

Since the Israel-Hamas war began, the U.S. Education Department has launched civil rights investigations into dozens of universities and schools in response to complaints of antisemitism or Islamophobia. Among those under investigation are many colleges facing protests, including Harvard and Columbia.

This is Biden’s America. There is no moral clarity in his administration that provides clear support for Israel.