As USC cancels commencement, Columbia students worry theirs could be disrupted
After the University of Southern California canceled its main commencement, students at other campuses with protests wonder if theirs will be next.
As the University of Southern California in Los Angeles canceled its main commencement ceremony because of safety concerns over student protests, students at Columbia University in New York, where anti-war demonstrations led to dozens of arrests, said they feared theirs could be disrupted.
Schools across the country where protests have flared up are keeping mum about whether they will adjust or outright cancel their ceremonies, but some students said they feared a domino effect — much like what happened after students at Columbia became the first to set up an encampment on campus.
Those at other schools, from the University of Michigan to Cornell University in New York, then began to erect their own tents in shows of opposition to the Israel-Hamas war and to urge their schools to divest from companies that do business with Israel.
Graduating college students whose high school commencement ceremonies were canceled or delayed by the coronavirus pandemic say it is just another knock on their rocky road to getting an education.
An encampment Tuesday at the University of Michigan.Katie McTiernan / Anadolu via Getty Images“The top concern that I’ve been thinking about is what will happen with commencement, especially since our first year of college was online,” said Henry Sears, a senior at Columbia University and a co-president of its chapter of J Street, a student group that describes itself as “pro-Israel, pro-Palestine and pro-peace.”
Rating: 5