The graduating class of this year has some very bad luck. Many of these same individuals are at risk of losing their school commencement as a result of the continuous anti-Israel presentations that are roiling schools across the nation after missing out on their high school graduation four years ago according to scientific Covid lockdowns.
In fact, it’s already occurring at institutions like the University of Southern California ( USC), which made the announcement late last week to omit its main-stage commencement ceremony for graduating seniors. The school, according to The New York Times, “refused to hold the ceremony, which was scheduled for May 10 because of innovative security measures that would have required more time to process the 65, 000 students and friends who typically attend.”
The class will, but, host a series of individual “school rites”, where kids” cross the step, have their names announced, are photographed and receive their certificates”.
Like many well-known British universities, USC has been a staging ground for left-leaning anarchists protesting against Israel and its handling of the horrific Hamas terror attack on October 7, which left about 1,200 civilians dead. According to the Los Angeles Times, 93 people were arrested last year as a result of the establishment of an unlicensed camp on school grounds.
One claimed student said in a recorded videos that she is “in shock” that the university may make for a decision, especially given how many of this year’s graduates were also denied a high school commencement due to Covid restrictions.
” We, as a whole senior class, have never had a real graduation”, she said. We’ve all worked so hard to get here, but now they’ve just canceled our freak graduation.
College leaders who have to deal with antisemitic leftists and illegal encampments, in my opinion, deserve no sympathy. These administrators have long supported and promoted anti-Westernism and Marxist ideology in these institutions. The pro-Hamas cultural revolutions that are currently roiling their college” safe spaces” are monsters of their own creation.
Not all students who attend these universities support or support these ideologies. Universities are robbing graduates of the chance to have their hard work publicly acknowledged and celebrated by refusing to enforce the law and punish the unlawful conduct of these anarchists.
Families are in for a big deal when they graduate, whether in high school or college. It represents a testament to the hours of research and study it required to reach that point, in the eyes of students. Similar to that, it acknowledges the importance of parents in raising their children and teaching them the skills required to earn a degree.
Attending graduation may not be every student’s cup of tea. And that’s OK. However, it is not to deny students the opportunity to take part in such a celebration because university leaders are hesitant to punish lawbreakers who violate the rules of the left.
Shawn Fleetwood is a graduate of the University of Mary Washington and a staff writer for The Federalist. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClear Health, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
