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The Los Angeles Police Department removed a pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Southern California early Sunday morning, pushing several dozen people out of the campus gates in the latest crackdown on student protesters there. The encampment had sprouted up nearly two weeks ago in Alumni Park, a central quad on U.S.C.’s campus in Los Angeles. Los Angeles police said on Sunday morning that they had made no arrests while clearing the encampment for the second time. The university cited security concerns, but the valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, said she believed she was being silenced. On Sunday, police officers in riot gear entered the campus before dawn, pushing about 25 protesters out of the campus’s metal gates.

Persons: Asna Tabassum Organizations: Los Angeles Police Department, University of Southern, Sunday Locations: University of Southern California, ’, Los Angeles

Divya Jakatdar imagined that she would spend her senior year of high school celebrating college acceptances with her friends, attending prom and walking across the stage at graduation to the cheers of her family members. Instead, her senior spring arrived at the same time as the coronavirus pandemic. She said goodbye to high school classmates over Zoom; her graduation was a drive-through. Ms. Jakatdar, 21, thought her senior year at the University of Southern California might be a kind of do-over. “It’s a very big hit to morale for the exact class that felt like they lost their high school graduation,” Ms. Jakatdar, the student body president of U.S.C., said a few minutes after getting news that the commencement was off.

Persons: Divya Jakatdar, Jakatdar, Asna Tabassum, Jon M, Chu, Billie Jean King, ” Ms, “ We’ve, ” Organizations: University of Southern Locations: University of Southern California, Israel

☆ U.S.C. Cancels Its Main Graduation Ceremony, Citing Security Concerns
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-25 | by ( Stephanie Saul | More About Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The University of Southern California announced on Thursday that it has canceled its main-stage graduation ceremony for students, a move that follows campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war and a controversy over its selection of a class valedictorian. This week, the university has been rocked by turmoil by pro-Palestinian protesters, resulting in the arrests of more than 90 people. It was the continuation of controversy on the Los Angeles campus that began in early April, when the university selected a Muslim valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, a biomedical engineering major from Chino Hills, Calif. Following complaints from several Jewish organizations that Ms. Tabassum, who is of South Asian descent, had posted a social media link to a pro-Palestinian organization, the university informed her that she would not be delivering the valedictorian speech, which is a tradition.

Persons: Asna, Tabassum Organizations: University of Southern California, Los Angeles Locations: Israel, Chino Hills, Calif

☆ Deepening US divide over Israel tests the limits of free speech
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Zachary B. Wolf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Separately, on Monday, the University of Southern California canceled the commencement speech of its valedictorian – biomedical engineering major Asna Tabassum, who is Muslim – after her social media posts were targeted by pro-Israel activists, raising questions about the existence of free speech. “Tradition must give way to safety,” USC Provost Andrew Guzman wrote in an online, campuswide letter announcing his decision to axe Tabassum’s speech. In her Instagram profile, she links to a website that calls for the abolishment of the state of Israel. The content of the commencement speech was not mentioned in Guzman’s letter announcing the cancellation, and he argued it was not about speech but about security. When Fisk tried to grab the microphone from Afaneh, the mixer turned into a social media moment.

Persons: ”, Tabassum, –, Andrew Guzman, Jon Chu, Rich Asians ”, Asna Tabassum, CNN’s Nick Watt, ” Tabassum, “, Guzman, ” Guzman, there’s, Tom Cotton of, ” Cotton, Cotton, George Floyd, Sen, John Fetterman, Erwin Chemerinsky, Catherine Fisk –, Fisk, Malak Afaneh, Chemerinsky, Jake Tapper, Defamation League “ Organizations: CNN — Pro, Israel, University of Southern, USC, Rich Asians, Bay, Republican, Fox News, The New York Times, Pennsylvania Democrat, Starbucks, University of California, Berkeley Law, Justice, CNN, Islamic Relations, CAIR, Defamation League Locations: Gaza, Bakersfield , California, University of Southern California, USC, Los Angeles, Israel, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Pennsylvania, Ann Arbor , Michigan, Berkeley, Oakland , California, Palestine, United States

☆ U.S.C. Cancels Valedictorian’s Speech After Claims of Antisemitism
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-16 | by ( Stephanie Saul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The University of Southern California said it has canceled plans for a graduation speech by this year’s valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, who is Muslim. The school said the decision stemmed from security concerns, after several pro-Israeli groups objected to her social media posts supporting Palestinians. The decision drew immediate criticism from the Los Angeles office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, as well as from Ms. Tabassum, a biomedical engineering major. “I am both shocked by this decision and profoundly disappointed that the university is succumbing to a campaign of hate meant to silence my voice,” Ms. Tabassum wrote in a statement. University officials have had to handle vociferous debates over pro-Palestinian student protests, which many Jewish students and alumni say often veer into antisemitism.

Persons: Asna Tabassum, Tabassum, “, Ms Organizations: University of Southern, Islamic, Hamas, University Locations: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, Israel

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