Universities across the country are preparing for another weekend of graduation ceremonies on Saturday, following weeks of pro-Palestinian protests that have led to nearly 3,000 arrests, according to an NBC News tally.
Dozens of students filed out of Virginia Commonwealth University’s ceremony Saturday morning as Gov. Glenn Youngkin gave the commencement address, video posted in X showed.
After several people were arrested last week at the school while police broke up encampments on college campuses, VCU said on its website before the start that disruptions to the ceremony were strictly prohibited.
But student groups, including the VCU chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, moved forward with a “silent march” to protest Youngkin’s policies and his role in the arrests of pro-Palestinian student protesters in April.
On Saturday, students dressed in caps and gowns marched silently toward the back of the Greater Richmond Convention Center, causing some in the crowd to erupt in applause.
The Commonwealth Times, the university’s student newspaper, said in a post on X that the strike was “in protest of Governor Glenn Youngkin appearing as the keynote speaker.”
Other video footage posted on X showed a group of people, including some graduates, outside the convention center chanting and holding signs, including one that said, “No graduation as usual.”
Attendees who left the convention center after the ceremony began would not be allowed to re-enter, the school said.
The university declined to comment Saturday.
The University of Southern California in Los Angeles held week-long commencement events after canceling its main stage ceremony due to security concerns due to student protests. It also canceled Muslim student Asna Tabassum’s valedictorian speech, a move that further inflamed tensions on campus. USC President Andrew Guzman said he canceled Tabassum’s speech for security reasons amid tensions related to the “ongoing conflict in the Middle East.”
Tabassum, which said the university’s decision was veiled racismtook the stage at a graduation ceremony on Friday night and received loud applause from students and spectators, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Joel Curran, senior vice president of communications, told the newspaper that the ceremony was “joyful and celebratory,” “without interruptions.”
Protests interrupted the start ceremonies on Friday and Saturday at the University of California, Berkeley. As Sydney Roberts, the school’s student body president, addressed her fellow graduates Saturday, a group of people in the crowd began shouting.
O Chronicle of San Francisco reported that soon after, about 20 students stood up and waved Palestinian signs and flags while shouting, “Free Palestine!” Security guards escorted them to the back of the venue, according to the news outlet.
About 300 other graduates stood up and went to a section of the venue and began chanting, prompting some people to counter-sing “throw them out,” the Chronicle reported.
During Friday’s ceremony, there was a similar interruption as students took off their dresses and revealed white shirts with “UC Divest” written on them at UC Berkeley’s law school graduation, according to the Chronicle. The university responded on Friday saying in a declaration that the disruption “did not affect proceedings, prevent us from honoring the hard work and accomplishments of our students, or require a premature conclusion to our ceremony.”
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.
Officers in riot gear arrived at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia early Friday to arrest and remove protesters who defied earlier orders to disperse. Police said nine of those arrested were students, while the other 24 had no connection to the school.
Like other universities, the schools implemented additional security measures and said disruptions would not be tolerated. Officials at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said graduates must present their student ID to enter Kenan Stadium and reminded students of free speech laws and policies that include a range of disciplinary actions for those who substantially interfere with protected freedom of expression of another person. .
“This includes protests that limit the ability of others to hear a speaker,” the school said he said on your website. “The University respects the rights of peaceful protesters. Although anyone – including students, faculty and staff – may assemble and exercise their rights to free speech, state law and Board of Governors policy prohibit significant disruption of University operations.”
The school – which has seen several protests on campus and subsequent arrests — warned that anyone who fails to comply “will be subject to arrest”.
University of Texas at Austin President Jay Hartzell, who has been criticized by faculty and students for calling in state troopers to arrest protesters, said in a video message that the Class of 2024 of about 10,800 graduates deserves to have a graduation, but warned that there will be “no interruption to your special and hard-earned achievement.”
UT did not say whether it was increasing security ahead of the celebration and issued a detailed guideline on its clear bag policy and which items would be strictly prohibited. Brian Davis, UT spokesman for issues and crisis communications, said these rules already existed for previous graduations, but that the university was being more explicit about them this year.
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