University of Southern California cancels start of war due to Gaza war protests

The University of Southern California canceled its main stage graduation ceremony Thursday as university officials across the country feared continued campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war would cause disruption. May entrance ceremony.

Some universities called for police to disperse. demoWhile the result was an ugly brawl and dozens of arrests, some seemed content to wait out student protests as the end of the semester approached.

A day after more than 90 protesters were arrested on campus, USC announced the cancellation of the May 10 ceremony. The university said it will continue to hold dozens of graduation events, including all traditional individual school graduation ceremonies where students walk across the stage and receive their diplomas.

I was already feeling nervous after graduating from university. I canceled my scheduled graduation speech. The school's pro-Palestinian valedictorian made the announcement, citing safety concerns.

“We understand that this is disappointing. However, we are working hard to make this graduation ceremony academically meaningful, memorable, and uniquely Southern California.” We are adding many new activities and celebrations, including a gathering place with faculty and staff, a celebratory release of doves, and a performance by the Trojan Marching Band,” the university said in a statement Thursday.

More than 90 people were arrested on suspicion of trespassing during protests on campus Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Police Department said. One person was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.

At Emerson College in Boston, 108 people were arrested overnight in an alley encampment. An additional 93 people were arrested during Wednesday night's protests at the University of Southern California. And new camps and protests continued on campuses across the country.

Students protesting against the war are demanding: Schools sever economic ties divest from companies that sell to Israel and enable conflict. Some Jewish students say the anti-Semitic bent of the protests has made them afraid to set foot on campus.

At Emerson, police are seen on video first warning students in an alley to leave. Students linked arms and resisted police, who forced their way through the crowd, throwing some demonstrators to the ground.

“As the night progressed, the tension just kept building. There were more cops on all sides. It felt like we were slowly being pushed in and squeezed in,” sophomore Ocean Muir said. .

“The scariest moment for me was holding out my umbrella in case I got tear gassed, hearing the umbrella coming, hearing the boots hitting the ground, hitting the ground so loud I couldn't even chant. , one person went blind,” she said.

Muir said police grabbed her by the arms and legs and took her away. She said Muir, along with her other students, was charged Thursday with trespassing and disorderly conduct.

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

On Wednesday, University of Texas at Austin police officers actively detained dozens of protesters. Hundreds of local and state police, including some on horseback and carrying batons, barged into the demonstrators, causing some to fall onto the street. A total of 57 people were jailed and charged with trespassing, according to a Travis County Sheriff's Office spokesperson.

Dane Urquhart, a third-year student from Texas, called the police presence and arrests an “overreaction,” adding that the protests would have continued peacefully if police had not been called in. University President Jay Hartzell said in his statement: “Our rules are important and will be enforced. Our universities will not be occupied.”

Protesters at California State Polytechnic State University in Humboldt, north of the University of Southern California, barricaded themselves inside the building for three days. The school closed its campus over the weekend and held classes virtually.

At Emory University in Atlanta, local and state police moved in to clear the camp, but the university said the protesters were outside activists, not students. Some officers carried semi-automatic rifles, and video showed an officer using a stun gun on one protester who was pinned to the ground. At least 17 people were detained, handcuffed with zip ties and loaded into police convoys.

Demonstrators at Emory chanted slogans in support of Palestinians and against a public safety training center being built in Atlanta. His two movements are closely intertwined in Atlanta, where “Stop Cop City” activities have been taking place for years, including attacks on property.

However, many universities, including Harvard University in Massachusetts, chose not to take immediate action against protesters who set up tents, despite openly violating campus rules. . Others, like Northwestern University, have enacted new rules, including making sudden changes to student conduct rules on Thursday morning and setting up bar tents on campus in suburban Chicago.

The current wave of protests is Inspired by events at Columbia University In New York, police cleared an encampment and arrested more than 100 people last week, but in the coming weeks students defiantly set up tents again in the area where many were planning to graduate in front of their families. It was just that. Colombia's government said it planned to continue negotiations with demonstrators until early Friday morning.

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Perry reported from Meredith, New Hampshire. Contributing to this report were various Associated Press journalists including Kathy McCormack, Jim Bartuno, Acacia Coronado, Suddin Tanawala, Mike Stewart and Sophia Tareen.