US Universities Concerned about Protests During Graduation Ceremonies
2024-04-28
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1New York City police recently arrested students at Columbia University who were protesting the war between Israel and Hamas.
2The University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles canceled a graduation speech by the school's valedictorian, who is Muslim.
3And demonstrators set up camps on the grounds of the University of Michigan, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Yale University in Connecticut.
4Harvard University near Boston closed Harvard Yard to outsiders.
5University leaders are worried the unrest will disrupt the usual celebrations surrounding graduation.
6Since the war between Israel and Hamas started after Hamas' attack on Israel last October 7, college leaders have struggled.
7They are unsure how to protect students and their freedom of speech.
8Recently, Columbia's president, Minouche Shafik, said the conflict in the Middle East is causing pain to both Jewish students and those who support Palestinians.
9"But we cannot have one group dictate terms and attempt to disrupt important milestones like graduation to advance their point of view," she wrote in a message to the community.
10College graduation ceremonies, known as commencements, have been marked by protests in the past.
11Last year, students at Boston University turned their backs on speaker David Zaslav in a show of support for Hollywood writers who were on strike.
12In 1990, students at the all-women's Wellesley College in Massachusetts protested then-First Lady Barbara Bush.
13They said the school should have invited a speaker known for her accomplishments, not those of her husband.
14While those protests were peaceful, some university leaders are concerned about possible violence this year.
15Some Jewish students say they feel unsafe at their schools.
16The University of Chicago Project on Security and Threats published a report in March about fear at U.S. colleges.
17The report said that more than half of Muslim and Jewish students felt "personal danger" in the past year.
18The Anti-Defamation League is a nonprofit organization that fights hatred of Jews.
19The group recently sent a letter to college and university presidents asking them to "take clear and decisive action" to make sure graduation ceremonies succeed.
20One of the commencement speakers who might face protesters is President Joe Biden.
21He is expected to speak at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York state.
22Statements from university leaders, policy changes to prevent student protests and even arrests have not made a difference.
23One expert believes that students are correct to be upset about the actions of their university leaders.
24Edward Ahmed Mitchell is a lawyer and an official with the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
25Mitchell spoke about the cancellation of the student speech at USC.
26He said he was concerned that the school would not choose "a qualified visibly Muslim student who advocates for Palestine, to avoid what happened at USC."
27At USC, the news that Asna Tabassum, a South Asian American Muslim, would not be permitted to give her commencement speech on May 10 led to days of protests.
28Then, on April 25, USC said it would cancel the main part of its graduation ceremony, where Tabassum would have spoken and other well-known people would have appeared.
29The rest of the graduation activities will happen as planned, the school said.
30"Schools are going to do more harm than good if they try to censor and silence commencement speakers," Mitchell added.
31Other protests are demanding that schools cut ties to Israel or companies that support Israel's war effort.
32This includes companies that manufacture weapons sold to Israel.
33Students also want professors to stop taking money from the Israeli government if their research could be used for military technology.
34Mahmoud Khalil is a student protest leader at Columbia University.
35He said students have been asking the university to sell its investments related to Israel since 2002.
36Some pro-Palestine protesters at MIT said the university has received $11 million from Israel's defense ministry in the last 10 years.
37Quinn Perian is a second-year student at MIT and the leader of a Jewish student group calling for a ceasefire.
38Perian called MIT "complicit," adding that colleges should be held responsible for the part they play in the war.
39At the University of Michigan, students said the university invests with companies that then invest in Israeli businesses.
40The university said only a small percentage of the money it invests goes to Israeli businesses and most of it is done indirectly.
41Students at Yale, Harvard and Emerson College in Boston are all asking that their schools make their investments public.
42They want to know where the school's money goes and whether it supports Israel's military.
43Owen Buxton studies movies at Emerson College.
44Buxton was one of about 80 people present at a protest on school grounds.
45He recently spoke to the Associated Press, saying he did not plan to leave the protest.
46"I would love to go home and have a shower," Buxton said.
47"But I will not leave until we reach our demands, or I am dragged out by police."
48I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Anna Matteo.
1New York City police recently arrested students at Columbia University who were protesting the war between Israel and Hamas. 2The University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles canceled a graduation speech by the school's valedictorian, who is Muslim. 3And demonstrators set up camps on the grounds of the University of Michigan, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Yale University in Connecticut. Harvard University near Boston closed Harvard Yard to outsiders. 4University leaders are worried the unrest will disrupt the usual celebrations surrounding graduation. 5Freedom of speech concerns 6Since the war between Israel and Hamas started after Hamas' attack on Israel last October 7, college leaders have struggled. They are unsure how to protect students and their freedom of speech. 7Recently, Columbia's president, Minouche Shafik, said the conflict in the Middle East is causing pain to both Jewish students and those who support Palestinians. 8"But we cannot have one group dictate terms and attempt to disrupt important milestones like graduation to advance their point of view," she wrote in a message to the community. 9History of protests 10College graduation ceremonies, known as commencements, have been marked by protests in the past. Last year, students at Boston University turned their backs on speaker David Zaslav in a show of support for Hollywood writers who were on strike. In 1990, students at the all-women's Wellesley College in Massachusetts protested then-First Lady Barbara Bush. They said the school should have invited a speaker known for her accomplishments, not those of her husband. 11While those protests were peaceful, some university leaders are concerned about possible violence this year. Some Jewish students say they feel unsafe at their schools. 12The University of Chicago Project on Security and Threats published a report in March about fear at U.S. colleges. The report said that more than half of Muslim and Jewish students felt "personal danger" in the past year. 13The Anti-Defamation League is a nonprofit organization that fights hatred of Jews. The group recently sent a letter to college and university presidents asking them to "take clear and decisive action" to make sure graduation ceremonies succeed. 14One of the commencement speakers who might face protesters is President Joe Biden. He is expected to speak at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in New York state. 15Protests likely to continue 16Statements from university leaders, policy changes to prevent student protests and even arrests have not made a difference. One expert believes that students are correct to be upset about the actions of their university leaders. Edward Ahmed Mitchell is a lawyer and an official with the Council on American-Islamic Relations. 17Mitchell spoke about the cancellation of the student speech at USC. He said he was concerned that the school would not choose "a qualified visibly Muslim student who advocates for Palestine, to avoid what happened at USC." 18At USC, the news that Asna Tabassum, a South Asian American Muslim, would not be permitted to give her commencement speech on May 10 led to days of protests. 19Then, on April 25, USC said it would cancel the main part of its graduation ceremony, where Tabassum would have spoken and other well-known people would have appeared. The rest of the graduation activities will happen as planned, the school said. 20"Schools are going to do more harm than good if they try to censor and silence commencement speakers," Mitchell added. 21More than ceasefire 22Other protests are demanding that schools cut ties to Israel or companies that support Israel's war effort. This includes companies that manufacture weapons sold to Israel. Students also want professors to stop taking money from the Israeli government if their research could be used for military technology. 23Mahmoud Khalil is a student protest leader at Columbia University. He said students have been asking the university to sell its investments related to Israel since 2002. 24Some pro-Palestine protesters at MIT said the university has received $11 million from Israel's defense ministry in the last 10 years. 25Quinn Perian is a second-year student at MIT and the leader of a Jewish student group calling for a ceasefire. Perian called MIT "complicit," adding that colleges should be held responsible for the part they play in the war. 26At the University of Michigan, students said the university invests with companies that then invest in Israeli businesses. The university said only a small percentage of the money it invests goes to Israeli businesses and most of it is done indirectly. 27Students at Yale, Harvard and Emerson College in Boston are all asking that their schools make their investments public. They want to know where the school's money goes and whether it supports Israel's military. 28Owen Buxton studies movies at Emerson College. Buxton was one of about 80 people present at a protest on school grounds. He recently spoke to the Associated Press, saying he did not plan to leave the protest. 29"I would love to go home and have a shower," Buxton said. "But I will not leave until we reach our demands, or I am dragged out by police." 30I'm Dan Friedell. And I'm Anna Matteo. 31Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on reports by the Associated Press. 32______________________________________________ 33Words in This Story 34graduation -n. the ceremony marking the successful completion of studies at a school or college 35valedictorian -n. a student who is among the best in a class, who is chosen to give a speech at the class's graduation ceremony 36disrupt -v. to interfere with normal activities 37accomplishment -n. something that is done for which people earn praise 38decisive -adj. effective 39advocate -v. to openly be in support of some cause, person or group 40censor -v. to remove objectionable words and statements from writing, or other media 41complicit -adj. involved in something 42drag -v. to be pulled across the ground without care or exactness 43We want to hear from you. Do you think the upcoming graduation events across the U.S. will go on as planned?