USC graduates and families gather at the Coliseum to cheer their students’ achievements amid political unrest – Daily News

Bianca Bao holds a photo of her daughter Hannah Lee at the Trojan Family Graduation Celebration at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Thursday, May 9, 2024. Lee is a Class of 2024 graduate. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)

The moment for USC graduates arrived on Thursday evening – but not in the way the class of 2024 had imagined just a few weeks ago.

Weeks ago, the 143-year-old private university proudly announced the details of its annual university-wide commencement with high-profile speakers, distinguished honorees and the usual pomp and ambience, including speeches from top students.

But that tradition was shattered amid bitter disputes over a valedictorian’s canceled speech, a wave of pro-Palestine protests on campus, a school closed to outsiders for days and an attempted encampment that led to 93 arrests. The demonstrations spread to other locations in Southern California, from nearby UCLA and Cal State LA to Long Beach State on the coast, CSU Fullerton and UC Irvine in Orange County and UC Riverside in the Inland Empire.

Traditionally, more than 60,000 people gather in Alumni Park for the university’s first graduation ceremony, which attracts famous speakers and is broadcast on local television.

Instead of the traditional on-campus commencement, USC hosted a university-wide “Trojan Family Graduation Celebration” Thursday evening next door at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Early on, when it seemed like a huge storm was bearing down on the Colosseum, the students and their supporters made the best of it, even if there was an undertone of disappointment in the air, memories of the last two weeks still fresh and security precautions were tight.

Ten to 15 minutes after the ceremony was scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m., long lines of people waited to get in as they had to pass through metal detectors and bag checks.

Punjal Kunvali, an industrial engineering major, said he was glad the program was changed to keep students safe, even though the danger may be exaggerated.

“I just watched it on the news and was very concerned,” he said, explaining that he only returned to campus on Tuesday after the protests subsided.

Several parents felt the same way, preferring excessive caution to the possibility of putting their children in danger.

“It’s smart, I want to protest and share your opinion, but safety comes first,” said Ted Bushell, a USC parent.

However, many students felt the move was unnecessary, with some even saying it spoiled the ceremony.

“I feel like the USC administration has not done a good job of handling this situation. It was a bad decision and they shouldn’t have canceled our valedictorian’s commencement speech,” said Ryan Killian, an electrical engineering student.

“If they are using student safety as a reason for cancellation, they should be more specific about the danger.”

The majority of USC’s individual school commencement ceremonies, which began without incident on Wednesday, will take place on Friday, with isolated events over the weekend.

The controversy simmered again Thursday as the USC Academic Senate, which represents the university’s faculty, formally criticized USC President Carol Folt and Provost Andrew Guzman on Thursday for their handling of dramatic changes to commencement activities and other responses to protests on campus reprimanded.

According to the campus newspaper Daily Trojan, the Senate voted 21-7 in favor of the censure, with six members abstaining. The criticism cited “widespread dissatisfaction and concern” over Folt and Guzman’s decisions related to commencement activities and pro-Palestinian protests on campus.

The Academic Senate also called for the creation of a task force to investigate and report on university management’s decisions on the issue, the newspaper reported.

But amid all the echoes of tough political conflict, L.A.’s iconic sports stadium filled Thursday with students, families, loved ones and faculty who gathered to rekindle cheers for student achievers with bright futures.

The Trojan Family Graduate Celebration promised “drone shows, fireworks, surprise performances, the school’s award-winning marching band and a special gift just for the class of 2024.”

As control remains at the highest level, all graduates and their guests must present digital tickets to gain entry to the ceremonies or other events. Graduates may invite up to eight named guests to Commencement events, with the exception of Thursday evening’s Coliseum event, where only six tickets are available per graduate.

The day before, the first day of graduation ceremonies went smoothly despite the recent unrest, much to the relief of graduates and their families who were devastated by the school’s decision to cancel the usual commencement.

The first series of more than 100 planned graduation events took place on Wednesday, including doctoral presentation ceremonies for the faculties of engineering, business, education, journalism and arts and sciences. Ceremonies will continue on campus through Saturday.

“I am very happy and really proud of myself to graduate from the University of Southern California, and I am very grateful to my parents and family who have always supported me,” said Haonan Yang, a graduate student in mechanical engineering. “I have to share this important moment with my parents.”

The day of rest provided a brief respite after weeks of feuding. Angry words about the commencement activities began last month following the election of Asna Tabassum as this year’s valedictorian. Her pro-Palestinian views led to complaints from some critics who claimed some of her social media posts were anti-Semitic – claims she has denied. The university responded by announcing that Tabassum would not be allowed to give a speech on the main stage at the opening ceremony – a move the university’s rector said was made solely for security reasons.

However, this decision sparked an uproar of its own. Groups like the Council on American-Islamic Relations called it an act of cowardice aimed at silencing a pro-Palestinian viewpoint.

As the uproar intensified, the university canceled all “external speakers” at the main stage ceremony and scrapped plans to award any honorary degrees at the event. Filmmaker Jon M. Chu was scheduled to be the keynote speaker at the opening. Honorary degrees were expected to go to Chu, National Endowment for the Arts Chairwoman 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 ceremony.”

Days later, 93 people were arrested following a day-long pro-Palestine protest and the attempted occupation of Alumni Park, the traditional site of the main stage ceremony. Protesters — as in similar actions on college campuses across the country — demanded that the university divest from Israel-affiliated organizations, cancel the Israel-affiliated study abroad program and issue a public call for a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

The protest and mass arrests led to increased security and restrictions on access to campus. The next day, the university announced that it was canceling the main stage commencement ceremony altogether.

“We understand this is disappointing; However, we are adding many new activities and celebrations to make this graduation academically meaningful, memorable and unique to USC, including places to gather with family, friends, faculty and staff, the ceremonial release of the doves and performances by the Trojan Marching Band,” USC officials said at the time.

In the weeks that followed, another pro-Palestinian camp was set up in Alumni Park and was allowed to remain there until early Sunday morning, when police moved in and dismantled it.

Staff writer Clara Harter and City News Service contributed to this report