The University of Southern California announced on Thursday that it has canceled its main stage graduation ceremony under new safety measures being taken as the campus is roiled by protests stemming from the Israel-Hamas war, The Associated Press reported.
The university announced the move one day after more than 90 protesters were arrested on campus. The ceremony was scheduled for May 10.
The university said it will still host dozens of commencement events, including all the traditional individual school commencement ceremonies where students cross a stage and receive their diplomas.
It had already canceled a planned commencement speech by the school’s pro-Palestinian Arab valedictorian, citing safety concerns.
“We understand that this is disappointing; however, we are adding many new activities and celebrations to make this commencement academically meaningful, memorable, and uniquely USC, including places to gather with family, friends, faculty, and staff, the celebratory releasing of the doves, and performances by the Trojan Marching Band,” the university said in a statement Thursday, according to AP.
Anti-Israel protests, which have at times turned violent, have been recorded on campuses throughout the US.
On Monday, at least 45 pro-Palestinian Arab protesters were arrested at Yale University after police in riot gear stormed the campus during a protest.
On Saturday night, as the protest was ongoing, a Jewish Yale student journalist was stabbed in the eye with a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flag.
Last Thursday, more than 100 people were arrested by New York Police Department officers on a preliminary charge of criminal trespass, as police entered Columbia University to disperse a pro-Palestinian Arab protest that began a day earlier.
Two nights later, the Chabad rabbi of Columbia University and a group of Jewish students were forced to leave the university campus for their own safety during a pro-Hamas demonstration.
On Wednesday, police arrested over a dozen people, including a local news photographer, at a pro-Palestinian Arab protest at the University of Texas at Austin.