USC’s move to cancel commencement amid protests draws criticism from students, alumni

LOS ANGELES — The University of Southern California’s decision to cancel its main graduation ceremony Thursday, a move that came 10 days after administrators said the valedictorian who had expressed support for the Palestinians would not be allowed to speak, stunned students and alumni of the protests against the Israeli government. The Hamas war continues to spread across campuses across the country.

“It seems like USC isn’t really listening to their students,” said 2023 business administration graduate Olivia Lee, who says she’s considering whether to recommend the private university to potential students.

Videos of police in riot gear confronting and ultimately arresting dozens of protesters on campus ensured she wouldn’t introduce her alma mater to teens who might join similar demonstrations.

“Could that happen to them?” she said.

The protests over the Israel-Hamas conflict are presenting a tough test for colleges across the country as administrators try to balance free speech and open debate against pressures on campus security.

The USC controversy emerged on April 15 when officials said the 2024 farewell speech, which has publicly supported the Palestinians, could not deliver a commencement address, citing non-specific security concerns for their rare decision. Days later, USC canceled the keynote speech by filmmaker Jon M. Chu — a 2003 graduate of the university — and said it would not confer honorary degrees.

This week, student protests at Columbia University inspired a similar inspiration on the Los Angeles campus, with students calling on the university to divest from companies that do business with Israel or support the ongoing military action in Gaza. Ninety demonstrators were arrested on Wednesday evening. Less than a day later, the university announced that its main May 10 graduation event — a ceremony that typically draws 65,000 people to the Los Angeles campus — would not take place this year.

University officials said in a statement that “with the new safety measures in place this year” they would not be able to process tens of thousands of guests.

“We understand this is disappointing; However, we are adding many new activities and celebrations to make this commencement academically meaningful, memorable and uniquely USC,” the statement said.

Taylor Contarino, a senior who will graduate next month with a bachelor’s degree in journalism, said Thursday morning that there was “daunting energy” on campus even before the university made its announcement. The school limited campus access to people with USC identification in the wake of Wednesday’s protests.

“I couldn’t help but feel like there was an elephant in the room,” she said. “We all walk past each other and show our IDs to the guards.”

Contarino had wanted to attend USC since she was 13 or 14 and planned to attend the main graduation event. But she said her work covering the protests for Annenberg Media, a student-run news outlet, has reminded her of the importance of her major in witnessing and recording history. She plans to return to USC in the fall for her master’s degree in journalism.

Lee, a 2023 graduate, said she initially didn’t want to wake up early for last year’s main commencement event, but her friends convinced her to go. As students walk across the stage for their diplomas during the smaller school ceremonies — which are still planned — she said the big ceremony was worth attending.

“It made my graduation day that much more special,” she said. “If I were to graduate again, I would go.”

Lee agrees with protesters’ calls for USC to stop investing money in companies that support Israel.

“We pay so much to be there,” she says. “I believe that students have the right to know where their tuition fees are going and what they are investing in.”

Joshua Adams planned to return to the USC campus with his family next year to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of receiving his master’s degree in journalism. He called the university’s recent decisions to restrict free speech “troubling” and said he hoped alumni voices would help influence administrators.

Colleges and universities across the country, including USC, tout themselves as champions of free speech, he said, but at the same time often shy away from advocating pro-Palestinian positions.

“We are at an inflection point where students are not going to accept that,” Adams said.