Nearly 3,000 people have been arrested in weeks of pro-Palestinian protests, according to a tally by NBC News, and new positions were set up as demonstrations continued at universities across the country as graduation ceremonies were held on Saturday.
Dozens of students left a ceremony at Virginia Commonwealth University Saturday morning as Gov. Glenn Youngkin delivered the commencement address. Posted in X Indicated.
After several people were arrested at the school last week when police cleared an encampment on campus, VCU announced on its website before the school day that disruption of ceremonies is strictly prohibited.
However, student organizations, including the VCU chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, went ahead with a “silent strike” to protest Yonkin’s policies and his role in the arrests of pro-Palestinian student protesters in April.
On Saturday, students in caps and gowns marched silently toward the back of the Greater Richmond Convention Center, while some in the crowd cheered.
This was reported by the Commonwealth Times, the university’s student newspaper. Post to X The walkout was said to be “in protest of Governor Glenn Youngkin, who appeared as the keynote speaker.”
other picture An article posted on X showed a group, including alumni, chanting and holding up placards that read “No graduation as usual” outside the convention center.
The school said attendees who leave the convention center after the ceremony begins will not be allowed to re-enter.
The university declined to comment Saturday.
The University of Southern California in Los Angeles held its graduation ceremonies for a week after canceling its main stage ceremony due to safety concerns over student protests. Additionally, Muslim student Asna Tabassum’s valedictorian speech was canceled, a move that further inflamed tensions on campus. University of Southern California President Andrew Guzman said Tabassum’s lecture was canceled due to safety concerns amid tensions related to the “ongoing conflict in the Middle East.”
Tabassum, who said the university’s decision was veiled racism, took to the stage at the graduation ceremony Friday night and received thunderous applause from students and spectators, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Joel Curran, senior vice president of communications, told the newspaper that the ceremony was “free of disruption” and “fun and celebratory.”
Start interrupted by protests The ceremony will be held Friday and Saturday at the University of California, Berkeley. On Saturday, as the school’s student body president, Sidney Roberts, addressed graduates, some people in the crowd began chanting.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that shortly afterward, about 20 students stood up, waving placards and Palestinian flags and chanting “Liberate Palestine!” According to news outlets, security escorted them to the rear of the venue.
About 300 other graduates then stood up, moved to a corner of the venue, and began singing, prompting some to chant “get them out,” The Chronicle reported.
Similar disruptions occurred during Friday’s ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley’s law school, where students removed their gowns to reveal white shirts that read “UC Divest,” according to the Chronicle. In response, the university said in a statement Friday that the interruption “did not affect the proceedings, did not prevent students from celebrating their efforts and achievements, and did not force an early end to the ceremony. ” he said.
The Wharton Executive MBA Program at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Texas at Austin will hold ceremonies throughout Saturday.
In the early hours of Friday, police in riot gear descended on the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, arresting and removing demonstrators who failed to comply with prior orders to disperse. According to police, nine of those arrested were students and the remaining 24 were not affiliated with the school.
Like other universities, the schools have taken additional safety measures and said disruptions will not be tolerated. Officials at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill say graduates will be required to present their student IDs to enter Kenan Stadium and have announced a series of disciplinary actions against anyone who substantively interferes with the protected free speech rights of others. He said he reminded students of the laws and policies regarding free speech, including: .
“This includes protests that limit the ability of others to be heard,” the school said on its website. “The University respects the rights of peaceful protesters. Everyone, including students, faculty and staff, can gather and exercise their right to free speech, but state law and Board of Regents policies require that Substantial interference with university operations is prohibited.
The school, which has experienced several on-campus protests and subsequent arrests, warned anyone who did not comply would be “subject to arrest.”
Hours before Saturday evening’s graduation ceremony, WRAL reported that some pro-Palestinian demonstrators defaced campus buildings with red paint and chalk during a protest. Protesters left red handprints with the message “UNC has blood on its hands” and covered the steps of the South Building with red paint.
A new encampment was also set up on UNC’s campus on Saturday, with protesters holding tents and signs that read “Stop the Massacre” and “End the Siege,” WRAL reported. Was.
Early Saturday morning, protesters held a “people’s graduation ceremony” for students who were suspended following another protest two weeks ago, according to WRAL.
University of Texas at Austin President Jay Hartzl, who has come under fire from faculty and students for calling in state troopers to arrest protesters, said in a video message that about 10,800 people He said the graduating class of 2024 deserves a commencement ceremony, but warned that the ceremony will not take place. “I will not allow your special, hard-earned accomplishments to be sabotaged.”
The UT did not say whether it had beefed up security ahead of the celebrations, but issued detailed guidelines on its clear bag policy and what items would be strictly prohibited. Brian Davis, UT’s affairs and crisis communications spokesperson, said those rules have applied to past graduates, but the university is being clearer about them this year.
