By Steve Gorman, Julia Harte and Kanishka Singh
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The University of Southern California, citing security concerns and passions related to the latest conflict in the Middle East, canceled the valedictory speech of a Muslim student who said she had been silenced by anti-Palestinian hatred for his views on human rights.
USC Provost Andrew Guzman said in a statement Monday that the decision to cancel the traditional commencement address at next month’s graduation had “nothing to do with free speech” and was simply aimed at protecting the safety of campus.
The valedictorian, biomedical engineering graduate Asna Tabassum, disputed the university’s logic in her own statement, questioning “whether USC’s decision to rescind my invitation to speak is made solely on the basis of safety.”
Guzman’s statement does not refer to Tabassum by name, nor does it specify what about her speech, background or political views raised concerns. Nor did it detail any particular threat.
The provost refers more generally to how “the discussion surrounding the choice of our valedictorian has taken on an alarming tone” in recent days.
“The intensity of sentiment, fueled by both social media and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, has grown to include many voices outside of USC and has increased to the point of creating substantial security risks and disruptions to beginning,” he wrote .
As a result, “we have decided that our valedictorian will not give a speech at commencement,” Guzman wrote, adding, “tradition must give way to safety.” The Los Angeles Times reported that the decision was a first for USC.
Public safety officials and civil rights advocates have reported an increase in hate crimes against Muslims, Jews, Arabs and Palestinians in the United States, along with rising tensions on college campuses linked to the Israel-Gaza war, since the conflict erupted on October 7. .
According to Tabassum, who describes herself as a “first-generation Muslim South Asian-American,” USC officials declined, in a meeting with her on April 14, to share details of the university’s security assessment.
USC, renowned for an intercollegiate athletic program whose football and other teams are known as the Trojans, did not respond to Reuters’ request for further comment.
‘SPELOMETRY TO FEAR’
Tabassum said she was also told that USC has the ability to “take appropriate security measures for my valedictorian speech,” but decided not to because a tougher security posture was “not what l ‘university wants to “present as an image”.’
Instead, Tabassum said USC was “giving in to fear and rewarding hate,” which she said was directed by “anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian voices” who were targeting her “because of my uncompromising belief in human rights for all”.
Neither Tabassum nor the USC made explicit mention of the Israel-Gaza war.
Trojans for Israel, a USC-based group, and We Are Tov (Hebrew for “good”), a group that advocates for support of Israel and Jews in collegiate life, had called for Tabassum’s removal as speaker at the earlier this month, saying he had espoused anti-Semitic views of the past.
Local media reported that both groups had opposed Tabassum based on her social media profile, including an Instagram account with a link directing users to a presentation on “what’s happening in Palestine and how to help.” He advocated “a Palestinian state” and “the complete abolition of the State of Israel.”
Tabassum told an NBC News affiliate that he posted the link five years earlier and did not create the slideshow.
In her statement, Tabassum said her graduate studies in genocide resistance had shown her the danger of allowing “cries for equality and human dignity” to be deliberately confused with “expressions of hatred.”
“Due to widespread fear, I hoped to use my commencement speech to inspire my classmates with a message of hope,” she wrote.
Sonya Meyerson-Knox, spokeswoman for the anti-Zionist Jewish group Jewish Voice for Peace, said the USC episode was part of a larger pattern on U.S. college campuses of students being censored as anti-Jewish for criticizing the Israeli government or expressing support for the Palestinian cause. rights.
“Holding the government of Israel responsible for committing grave human rights violations, war crimes and possible genocide has nothing to do with anti-Semitism,” he said.
Other Jewish groups have countered that anti-Zionist rhetoric – sometimes marked by calls for Israel’s destruction or right to exist – often fuels overt forms of anti-Jewish hatred.
Tabassum was chosen as valedictorian from nearly 100 candidates — submitted from among more than 200 graduating seniors — who qualified for the honor based on grade point average, according to USC.
The university had not asked for an advance copy of Tabassum’s speech before withdrawing her invitation to speak, and she had not even begun work on her speech, said Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Council on American Islamic Relations, a group defense attorney who circulated the statement.
The council launched an online campaign calling on USC to reinstate Tabassum’s invitation to speak.
Commencement exercises on May 10, honoring this year’s graduating class of more than 19,000, are expected to draw 65,000 people to USC’s campus in downtown Los Angeles, long considered one of California’s most prestigious private universities.