USC cancels graduation ceremony amid protests

TThe University of Southern California canceled its main stage graduation ceremony on Thursday under new security measures taken as the campus is roiled by protests stemming from the Israel-Hamas war.

The university announced the measure on Thursday, a day after more than 90 protesters were arrested on campus. Colleges across the country called the police to disperse demonstrations, resulting in ugly fights and dozens of arrests.

The USC ceremony was scheduled for May 10. The university says it will still host dozens of graduation events, including all traditional individual school graduation ceremonies where students walk across a stage and receive their diplomas.

The university has already canceled a planned commencement speech by the school’s pro-Palestinian valedictorian, citing security concerns.

“We understand this is disappointing; however, we are adding many new activities and celebrations to make this commencement academically meaningful, memorable and unique to USC, including places to gather with family, friends, faculty and staff, the celebratory release of the doves, and performances by the Trojan Marching Band.” , the university said in a statement on Thursday.

See more information: Pro-Palestinian camps dominate American college campuses

The Los Angeles Police Department said more than 90 people were arrested Wednesday night during a protest on campus for alleged trespassing. One person was arrested for alleged assault with a deadly weapon.

At Emerson College in Boston, 108 people were arrested overnight at a camp in an alley. Another 93 people were arrested during a protest Wednesday night at the University of Southern California. And new camps and protests continued to pop up on campuses across the country.

Although many students will soon leave for summer vacation, school officials fear that any ongoing protests could disrupt May graduation ceremonies. Students protesting the war demand that schools cut financial ties with Israel and divest themselves of companies that enable the conflict. Some Jewish students say the protests have turned into anti-Semitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus.

In Emerson, the video shows police first warning students in the alley to leave. The students link arms to resist the police, who move forcefully through the crowd and throw some protesters to the ground.

“As the night went on, it became more and more tense. There were just more police everywhere. It felt like we were slowly being pushed and crushed,” said Ocean Muir, a sophomore.

“For me, the scariest moment was holding these umbrellas in case we got tear gas, and hearing them coming, and hearing their boots on the ground, hitting the ground louder than we could sing, and not being able to see a single person,” she said.

Muir said police lifted her by her arms and legs and took her away. Along with other students, Muir was charged Thursday with trespassing and disorderly conduct.

Emerson College leaders had previously warned students that the alley has a public right-of-way, and city officials threatened action if protesters did not leave. Emerson canceled classes on Thursday, and Boston police said four officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the confrontation.

At USC, tensions were already high after the university canceled a planned commencement speech by the school’s pro-Palestinian valedictorian, citing security concerns. After clashes with police on Wednesday morning, a few dozen protesters standing in a circle with their arms linked were detained one by one later in the evening.

Officers surrounded the dwindling group, defying an earlier warning to disperse or arrest. Beyond the police line, hundreds of spectators watched the helicopters flying overhead. The school closed the campus. One person was arrested on allegations of assault with a deadly weapon, the Los Angeles Police Department said, although it did not immediately provide details about the incident.

See more information: Scenes from pro-Palestinian camps at US universities

Earlier Wednesday, officers at the University of Texas at Austin aggressively detained dozens of protesters. Hundreds of local and state police officers — including some on horseback and holding batons — charged the protesters, at one point causing some to fall into the street. In total, 57 people were arrested and charged with criminal trespassing, according to a Travis County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman.

Dane Urquhart, a third-year student from Texas, called the police presence and arrests an “overreaction,” adding that the protest would have remained peaceful if police officers had not turned out in force. In a statement, university president Jay Hartzell said: “Our rules are important and will be enforced. Our university will not be occupied.”

North of USC, protesters at California State Polytechnic University Humboldt remained barricaded inside a building for a third day. The school closed the campus over the weekend and took classes virtual.

At Emory University in Atlanta, local and state police moved in to break up an encampment, although the university maintained that the protesters were not students but rather outside activists. Some officers carried semi-automatic weapons and the video shows officers using a stun gun on a protester who had been pinned to the ground. At least 17 people were detained, handcuffed with zippers and placed in a police transport van.

Protesters at Emory shouted slogans in support of Palestinians and in opposition to a public safety training center being built in Atlanta. The two movements are closely linked in Atlanta, where there have been years of “Stop Cop City” activism that has included raids on property.

But many colleges, including Harvard University in Massachusetts, chose not to take immediate action against protesters who set up tents, despite openly defying campus rules. And some colleges were creating new rules, like Northwestern University, which hastily changed its student code of conduct Thursday morning to bar tents on its suburban Chicago campus.

The current wave of protests was inspired by events at Columbia University in New York, where police cleared a camp and arrested more than 100 people last week, only to have students defiantly set up tents again in an area where many are about to graduate in front of their families in a few weeks. Columbia said it plans to continue negotiations with protesters through Friday.

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Perry reported from Meredith, New Hampshire. Associated Press journalists from multiple locations contributed to this report, including Kathy McCormack, Jim Vertuno, Acacia Coronado, Sudhin Thanawala, Mike Stewart and Sophia Tareen.