Waves of boos, angry chants and the steady rhythm of feet pounding on metal seats were upending the graduation ceremony at the University of California, Berkeley.
“Viva, viva Palestina!” students sang out.
“Hey, hey, ho, ho, Israel’s apartheid has got to go!”It was the soundtrack of this year’s antiwar protest, voiced on the morning of May 11 by hundreds of cap-and-gowned graduates, loud enough to nearly drown out the ceremony’s official speakers — and force the event to halt.
It looked like Berkeley’s 2024 commencement was about to be canceled midstream.
Once it was over and most had left the school’s low-slung football stadium, Berkeley’s chancellor, Carol Christ, sat near the podium in a folding chair.
Persons:
Carol Christ
Organizations:
University of California
Locations:
Berkeley