Saying that “tradition must give way to security,” the University of Southern California on Monday took the unprecedented step of barring a valedictorian who has been criticized for her pro-Palestinian views from giving a speech at their May graduation ceremony.
The move, according to USC officials, is the first time the university has barred a valedictorian from the traditional opportunity to speak on stage at the annual graduation ceremony, which typically draws more than 65,000 people to the campus. The Angels.
In a campus-wide letter, USC Chancellor Andrew T. Guzmán cited anonymous threats that came shortly after the university released the valedictorian's name and biography this month. Guzmán said the attacks against the student because of her pro-Palestinian views have reached an “alarming tenor” and “have escalated to the point of creating substantial risks related to security and disruption to graduation.”
“After careful consideration, we have decided that our valedictorian will not deliver a speech at graduation. …There is no right to free speech to speak at a graduation ceremony. The question here is what is the best way to maintain campus security, period,” Guzmán wrote.
The student, whose name is not mentioned in the letter, is Asna Tabassum, a biomedical engineering student. USC officials chose Tabassum from nearly 100 student applicants who had a GPA of 3.98 or higher.
But after USC President Carol Folt announced his selection, a swarm of groups on and off campus attacked Tabassum. They addressed his lesser resistance to the genocide, as well as his pro-Palestinian views and likes expressed through his Instagram account.
We Are Tov, a group that uses the Hebrew word for “good” and describes itself as “dedicated to combating anti-Semitism,” posted Tabassum's image on its Instagram account and said she “openly promotes anti-Semitic writings.” . The group also criticized Tabassum for liking “Trojans for Palestine” Instagram posts. Tabassum's Instagram bio links to a landing page that says “learn what's happening in Palestine and how to help.”
The university group Trojans for Israel also posted on its Instagram account, calling for Folt's “reconsideration” of Tabassum for what it described as his “anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric.” The group said Tabassum's Instagram bio was linked to a page that called Zionism a “racist colonialist ideology.”
In a statement, Tabassum opposed the decision and said USC had “abandoned” her.
“While this should have been a moment of celebration for my family, friends, teachers and classmates, anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian voices have subjected me to a racist hate campaign because of my uncompromising belief in human rights for all.” said Tabassum, who is Muslim.
“This campaign to prevent me from addressing my classmates at graduation has evidently achieved its goal: today, USC administrators informed me that the university will no longer allow me to speak at graduation due to alleged security concerns,” he wrote.
“I am shocked by this decision and deeply disappointed that the university is succumbing to a campaign of hate aimed at silencing my voice. I'm not surprised by those who try to spread hate. “I am surprised that my own university, my home for four years, has abandoned me.”
In an interview, Guzmán said the university has been “in close contact with the student” and “would provide support.” He added that “we were not seeking her opinion” on the ban.
“This is a security decision,” he said. “It's not about the identity of the speaker, it's not about the things the valedictorian has said in the past. “We have to make it our top priority to ensure that the campus and community are safe.”
Another campus official involved in the decision, Erroll Southers, said the threats came via email, phone calls and letters. Southers is the associate senior vice president of security and risk assurance at USC.
People “say they are coming to campus this week,” Southers said. He did not give further details.
Pro-Palestinian groups, including the Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, have called on USC to reinvite Tabassum to speak.
“USC cannot hide its cowardly decision behind a false concern for 'security,'” CAIR-LA executive director Hussam Ayloush said in a statement.
In another statement, the USC Palestine Justice Faculty Group said it “unequivocally rejects” that Tabassum was not invited.
“The chancellor's action is another example of USC's egregious pattern of supporting anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim racism,” the group said.
Times staff writers Jenna Peterson and Angie Orellana Hernandez contributed to this report.
