USC cancels main commencement over Gaza war protests

The University of Southern California canceled its main stage graduation ceremony Thursday, with university officials across the United States concerned that ongoing campus protests over the war between Israel and Hamas can disrupt May opening ceremonies.

Some universities called the police to dismantle them eventsresulting in horrific fights and dozens of arrests, while others seemed content to wait out the student protests as the final days of the semester wore on.

USC announced the cancellation of the May 10 ceremony, a day after more than 90 protesters were arrested on campus. The university says it will still host dozens of back-to-school events, including all the traditional back-to-school ceremonies in which students walk across a stage and receive their diplomas.

Tensions were already high after university canceled a planned keynote 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 back to school academically meaningful, memorable and unique at USC, including places to gather with family, friends, faculty and staff, the festive release of doves and Trojans walking performance. Band,” the university said in a statement Thursday.

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

At Emerson College in Boston, 108 people were arrested overnight at an alleyway encampment. Another 93 people were arrested during a protest Wednesday evening at the University of Southern California. And new encampments and protests continued to spring up on campuses across the country.

Students protesting against the war demand schools cut financial ties towards Israel and divest from companies that promote conflict. Some Jewish students say the protests turned anti-Semitic and made them afraid to set foot on campus.

At Emerson, video shows police first warning students in the alley to leave. Students join arms to resist the police, who forcefully move through the crowd and knock some protesters to the ground.

“As the night progressed, she became more and more tense. There were just more cops on all sides. It felt like we were slowly being pushed and crushed,” said Ocean Muir, a sophomore.

“For me, the scariest moment was holding out those umbrellas in case we were tear gassed, hearing them coming, hearing their boots on the ground, pounding the ground louder than we could sing, and not being able to see. just one person,” she said.

Muir said police picked her up 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 was a public road and city officials had threatened action if protesters did not leave. Emerson canceled classes Thursday and Boston police said four officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the confrontation.

On Wednesday, officers at the University of Texas at Austin aggressively arrested dozens of protesters. Hundreds of local and state police — some on horseback and holding batons — bulldozed into the protesters, at one point sending some of them tumbling into the street. A total of 57 people were jailed and charged with criminal trespassing, according to a spokeswoman for the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.

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

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

At Emory University in Atlanta, local and state police moved in to dismantle a camp, even though the university said the protesters were not students but rather outside activists. Some officers carried semi-automatic weapons, and video showed officers using a stun gun on a protester they had pinned to the ground. At least 17 people were arrested, handcuffed with zip ties and loaded into a police transport van.

Protesters at Emory chanted slogans supporting the Palestinians and opposing the construction of a public safety training center in Atlanta. Both movements are closely linked in Atlanta, where there have been years of “Stop Cop City” activism that have included attacks on property.

But many universities, including Harvard University in Massachusetts, chose not to take immediate action against protesters who set up tents, even though they were openly defying campus rules. And some colleges were establishing 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 has been inspired by events at Columbia University in New York, where police cleared an encampment and arrested more than 100 people last week, but students defiantly pitched their tents again, in an area where many are expected to graduate in front of their families in a few weeks. Columbia announced its intention to continue negotiations with protesters until Friday morning.

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