The University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles has opted to cancel its primary graduation ceremony scheduled for May 10, citing safety concerns.
This decision coincides with a wave of protests unfolding across numerous campuses throughout the United States in response to the Israel-Gaza conflict.
At Emory University in Atlanta, 28 demonstrators were arrested on Thursday for their refusal to disperse.
Similarly, Columbia University in New York City rescinded a Thursday night ultimatum to dismantle an encampment on its grounds.
In a released statement, USC expressed its inability to host the traditional main stage ceremony, which typically draws 65,000 attendees including students, families, and friends, due to safety apprehensions.
Earlier in the month, USC had announced the cancellation of a valedictorian speech by Muslim student Asna Tabassum, citing unspecified security threats.
The atmosphere at USC has been tense, with 93 individuals arrested for trespassing on campus premises on Wednesday, prompting the dismantling of an encampment.
Demonstrators at Emory University voiced support for Palestinians and objected to a police training center in Atlanta, colloquially referred to as “Cop City.”
Emory’s police force reported that protesters breached the area designated for commencement ceremonies on Thursday morning, leading to the release of chemical irritants for crowd control. However, they denied using rubber bullets, despite claims to the contrary.
One protester, identified as Noelle McAfee, a philosophy department chair at Emory, recounted being detained while observing what she described as a peaceful demonstration.
The recent surge in campus protests follows the intervention of police at Columbia University, resulting in over 100 arrests as authorities sought to clear a protest encampment.
Activists are calling on universities to divest from companies involved in weapons manufacturing and other industries supporting Israel’s actions in Gaza, branding such investments as complicit in “genocide.”