The University of Southern California has cancelled all of the speakers scheduled to speak at the commencement ceremony amid controversy.
On April 15, the prestigious private university announced its decision to ban the valedictorian from speaking at this year’s graduation on May 10.
Asna Tabassum, 21, was banned for being outspoken in her pro-Palestinian support, which has led her to be labeled anti-Semitic.
The decision has been met with fury on campus – with her fellow students accusing the university of censorship and 130 faculty members signing a letter demanding to hear her speak at graduation.
In another shock announcement, USC has announced that all the speakers that were to talk at the commencement ceremony have been cancelled.
The University of Southern California has cancelled all of the speakers scheduled to speak at the commencement ceremony amidst controversy
Asna Tabassum, 21, was banned for being outspoken in her pro-Palestinian support, which has led her to be labeled anti-Semitic
In another shock announcement, USC has announced that all the speakers that were to talk at the commencement ceremony have been cancelled. The keynote speakers included Crazy Rich Asians filmmaker Jon M. Chu who was expected at the main-stage ceremony – as well as tennis star Billie Jean King
The keynote speakers included Crazy Rich Asians filmmaker Jon M. Chu who was expected at the main-stage ceremony – as well as tennis star Billie Jean King.
USC released a statement saying its leadership had decided ‘it is best to release outside speakers and honorees from attending this year’s ceremony’.
The university said it was ‘redesigning’ the ceremony to make sure the focus remains on the graduates – and said the decision was taken after considering the ‘highly publicized circumstances’ that have arisen following Tabassum’s ban.
Tabassum’s ban came because of safety concerns after her pro-Palestine views led to accusations of antisemitism.
Fellow students protested the decision and during a march on Thursday, students held signs with photos of Tabassum, 21, reading ‘let Asna speak’.
Tabassum, who is majoring biomedical engineering with a minor in resistance to genocide, would have addressed 65,000 people at the ceremony. USC officials chose her from nearly 100 student applicants who had GPAs of 3.98 or higher.
The valedictorian has since come out to say that she is not anti-Semitic, and that she refuses to back down: ‘I stand by exactly what I stand by’.
Thursday’s march through campus followed a series of calls for her speech to be re-instated.
The decision to ban Tabassum has been met with fury on campus – with her fellow students accusing the university of censorship and 130 faculty members signing a letter demanding to hear her speak at graduation
The university said it was ‘redesigning’ the ceremony to make sure the focus remains on the graduates – and said the decision was taken after considering the ‘highly publicized circumstances’ that have arisen following Tabassum’s ban
Now, 130 faculty members have signed a letter calling for her to be allowed to speak
The faculty-signed letter said canceling her speech ‘stifles open communication’ while dozens of student groups signed a separate letter saying they were ‘outraged and ashamed’ by the decision.
The scandal started after pro-Israel groups slammed Tabassum’s selection for valedictorian, accusing her of anti-Semitism after it emerged the 21-year-old had made posts questioning the Israel-Hamas conflict.
A link in her Instagram bio led to a third-party page which said ‘Zionism is a racist settler-colonialist ideology’.
The college then removed Tabassum, who is a Muslim, from their graduation ceremony lineup stating that ‘tradition must give way to safety’.
After she was banned from the talk, Tabassum told ABC7 she stands by her views, saying: ‘I stand by exactly what I stand by.
‘I don’t believe it is ironic for me to minor in something called resistance to genocide, and then speak out on it and then be revoked because I’m penalized for something that people have an issue with.’
Following the outrage, the university hinted this week that they would be canceling single-person valedictorian speeches in the future.
One Instagram account, We Are Tov, spend time looking through Tabassum’s links
Tabassum also said that she didn’t believe the safety claim made by the university officials after they offered her no specifics.
She told the outlet: ‘That was a primary emotion, pride and humility and humbleness. Very quickly it turned into shock and surprise.’
When she pressed officials at the school further, she said: ‘[It was] almost a one-way conversation – and then the next day they came to me.
‘They gave me a call and said ‘it’s unfortunate, but you don’t get to speak’. It has been a roller coaster, and I would say that’s the best way to describe it.
‘When people are using this particular issue as a way to discuss issues of free speech, of security, of first amendment, of racism, of hatred, of ideological debate.
‘That is exactly what a university is supposed to do, that is exactly how we learn as college students.
‘It’s not about the speech, it’s about the representation, it’s about the principle.’
Tabassum has shared pro-Palestinian views and ‘likes’ expressed through her Instagram account which she has since made private and removed her postings.
The student’s Instagram bio links to a landing page that says ‘learn about what’s happening in Palestine, and how to help.’
Tabassum, who is majoring biomedical engineering with a minor in resistance to genocide, would have addressed 65,000 people at the ceremony
‘While this is disappointing, tradition must give way to safety,’ Provost Andrew Guzman wrote in a letter to the university community
Tabassum herself suggested she was was being silenced and that her university had ‘abandoned her’.
She wrote in a statement: ‘ Anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian voices have subjected me to a campaign of racist hatred because of my uncompromising belief in human rights for all.
‘This campaign to prevent me from addressing my peers at commencement has evidently accomplished its goal.
‘USC administrators informed me that the university will no longer allow me to speak at commencement due to supposed security concerns.
‘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,’ she went on.
‘I am not surprised by those who attempt to propagate hatred. I am surprised that my own university — my home for four years — has abandoned me.’
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