USC Cancels Main Commencement Ceremony Amid Protests

LOS ANGELES, CA — The University of Southern California canceled its "main stage" commencement ceremony Thursday, citing safety concerns following escalating demonstrations by pro-Palestinian protesters.

Instead, the university will hold dozens of smaller commencement ceremonies that will require tickets to attend. The announcement caps two weeks that have roiled USC and mirrored turmoil at universities across the nation. It comes a day after hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters held an ``occupation'' of USC's Alumni Park, leading to nearly 100 arrests. A week earlier the university canceled the valedictorian's speech over her online pro-Palestinian activism, which critics categorized as Anti-Semitic. The backlash forced the university to then cancel all outside speakers or honorees, including a commencement speech by Filmmaker Jon M. Chu.

Also on Thursday, protesters established a tent encampment at UCLA, a sign that the campus protests could continue through the end of the school year.

The protesters are calling on the universities to divest from organizations with Israeli-tied investments and to demand an immediate and permanent cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.

The cancellation stunned students and faculty.

“It seems like USC isn’t really listening to their student body,” said Olivia Lee, a 2023 business administration graduate who said she is rethinking whether to recommend the private university to potential students.

Videos of police officers in riot gear facing off, and ultimately arresting, dozens of protesters on campus left her worried about suggesting her alma mater to teenagers who may join similar demonstrations.

“Could that happen to them?” she said.

The protests over the Israel-Hamas conflict pose a tough test for colleges across the country as administrators seek to balance free speech and open debate against pressures over campus safety.

The smaller commencement events will include individual school ceremonies in which graduates are announced and 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 a message from the university. "These include ticketing of all commencement events taking place on May 8-11 and directing all campus access through specific points of entry."

Details on the ticketing process were expected to be posted online by Tuesday.

"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," according to the university. "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.

"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 noted that it will "be hosting dozens of commencement events, including all the traditional individual school commencement ceremonies where students cross the stage, have their names announced, are photographed, and receive their diplomas. In keeping with tradition, we will be hosting all doctoral hooding ceremonies, special celebrations, and departmental activities and receptions."

Organizers of the protest had planned to camp in the park and remain in place until the university met a series of demands, including divestment from Israeli-tied organizations, cancellation of Israeli study-abroad programs and issuance of a university statement calling for an immediate and permanent cease fire in the Israel-Hamas war.

The protest was also fueled in part by USC's decision to prevent valedictorian Asna Tabassum from speaking at the commencement ceremony following complaints about online posts critics called antisemitic, including a call for the abolition of Israel.

Despite protest organizers' intent to remain camped at the park, campus Department of Public Safety and Los Angeles Police Department officers cleared protesters from the area Wednesday night. USC is a private campus, and has rules in place barring people from erecting tents, hanging signs or camping.

Police said 93 people were ultimately arrested for ignoring repeated police orders to disperse.

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.

But the move drew condemnation from groups including the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the Council on American-Islamic Relations-Los Angeles and the ACLU of Southern California.

With tensions continuing to build, USC announced on Friday that it was "redesigning the commencement program," and it would no longer include any outside speakers or honorees.

Chu, the filmmaker, 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."

In its announcement Thursday canceling the main ceremony and requiring tickets for other events, the university said graduating students will be able to reserve free tickets for themselves and up to eight named guests -- and tickets "will not be transferrable."

"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, which added that a "clear bag policy" will also be in place.

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said canceling the commencement ceremony sends the wrong message.

"The answer can't be to cancel commencements for everyone," Greenblatt wrote on X. "It is allowing a heckler's veto. Schools should stand strong and protect their students' rights to the full college experience."

City News Service, The Associated Press and Patch Staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.