One day after nearly 100 people were arrested following pro-Palestinian protests on campus, USC administrators have canceled the “main stage” commencement ceremony next month, citing “new safety measures.”
USC announced Thursday the cancellation of the main graduation ceremony planned for Friday, May 10 at Alumni Park, where Wednesday’s demonstrations took place. Instead, tickets will be required for people to attend other commencement activities and ceremonies, which will be held at the same time that Friday morning.
“With the new safety measures in place this year, the time needed to process the large number of guests coming to campus will increase substantially,” administrators wrote on the website. “As a result, we will not be able to host the main stage ceremony that traditionally brings 65,000 students, families, and friends to our campus all at the same time and during a short window from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.”
The message continued, “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, including places to gather with family, friends, faculty, and staff, the celebratory releasing of the doves, and performances by the Trojan Marching Band.”
The university will also continue to hold “dozens” of smaller commencement events and receptions between May 8 and 11 — including the traditional individual school ceremonies, in which graduates are announced, and can walk across the stage to receive their diplomas.
“To ensure we host commencement activities and celebrate our graduates safely, we will be implementing additional security measures,” according to the university’s message. “These include ticketing of all commencement events taking place on May 8-11 and directing all campus access through specific points of entry.”
Graduating students can reserve free tickets for themselves and up to eight named guests. The tickets will not be transferrable, and there will be an appeal process if more tickets are needed, the message said.
A “clear bag policy” will also be in place at all commencement events.
“Prior to entering commencement events, we will screen people and bags, using security measures similar to those for attending athletic events at the Coliseum and before entering many other large venues,” according to the university.
Details of the ticketing process would be posted online by early next week, according to reports. Information on parking, ADA accommodations, safety measures and the expected code of conduct are available at USC’s 2024 Commencement website.
The announcement came one day after nearly 100 people were arrested on campus following a daylong “occupation” by hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters and supporters at USC’s Alumni Park, the site of the annual main commencement ceremony.
The actions join a growing student-led movement across college campuses nationwide that seeks to have schools support a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Organizers of Wednesday’s occupation had planned to camp in the park and stay there until police broke up the encampment that night. They demanded USC divest from Israeli-tied organizations, cancel Israeli study-abroad programs, and issue of a university statement calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
The protest was also fueled in part by USC’s decision to prevent valedictorian Asna Tabassum, a Chino Hills resident, from speaking at the main commencement ceremony, following complaints about Tabassum’s online posts that critics called antisemitic, including a call for the abolition of Israel.
The activists involved in yesterday’s demonstration were both students and non-students, according to police and school officials. Police said 93 people were ultimately arrested for ignoring repeated orders to disperse the campus.
USC Provost Andrew Guzman announced the decision earlier this month to bar Tabassum from speaking at commencement, insisting it was strictly a public safety decision, not a political one. Guzman stated the school’s decision in no way diminishes “the remarkable academic achievements of any student considered or selected for valedictorian.”
Students and groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Los Angeles and the ACLU of Southern California denounced the move.
The decision drew condemnation from groups including the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Los Angeles and the ACLU of Southern California.
In a statement, Tabassum said that what “should have been a time of celebration” has been overshadowed by controversy.
“This campaign to prevent me from addressing my peers at commencement has evidently accomplished its goal: today, USC administrators informed me that the university will no longer allow me to speak at commencement due to supposed security concerns,” Tabassum said in the statement.
With tensions continuing to build, USC announced last week that it was “redesigning the commencement program,” and it would no longer include any outside speakers or honorees. Filmmaker Jon M. Chu had been scheduled to be the main commencement speaker during the May 10 event. Honorary degrees were expected to be presented to Chu, National Endowment for the Arts Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, tennis legend Billie Jean King and National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt.
The university said it will “confer these honorary degrees at a future commencement or other academic ceremonies.”
Early Thursday, a similar pro-Palestinian encampment was growing in front of UCLA’s Royce Hall.