It’s graduation season in America, a time to celebrate many of our youth as they progress into adulthood and achieve their (hopefully) hard-earned diplomas. My son never got to experience walking across the stage and shaking the university president’s hand as he received his degree—instead, because of the draconian, insane response to COVID in many areas of this country, he got to have a Zoom ceremony.
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Thanks.
It’s becoming increasingly likely that history will repeat itself as graduations will be shut down yet again because the pro-Hamas demonstrators have realized that they’re a tasty target for their zealotry. The University of Southern California has already made such a move, nuking its huge ceremony, usually attended by 65,000 people and held in the Alumni Park. They have opted for smaller commencement ceremonies for the various schools under its umbrella, but the anti-Israel Hamas supporters have scared them into canceling the mass graduation. Nice.
Bending the knee:
USC Just Canceled Its Entire Commencement Ceremony Because of Pro-Hamas Protests
Jonathan Turley Wrecks USC’s Commencement Cancelation, As Pro-Hamas Demonstrations Rage
More disruptions are already happening, as The Usual Suspects gate-crashed a ceremony at the University of Michigan Friday night, and as usual, security failed to put a stop to it. In a good sign, however, many patriots weren’t having it and clapped back at the unwelcome guests:
Now word comes out that Columbia is rethinking its approach to graduation as its campus has been notoriously wracked by violent antisemitic protests. It sounds like they’re going to give in to the mob :
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The source at the university said the main [Columbia] commencement ceremony was slated to be canceled, but smaller events were still being planned.
After a meeting with top university leaders Friday, two members of student government said administrators indicated they are not sure they can hold a commencement ceremony on the main Morningside Heights campus in Manhattan because of security concerns.
It is unclear if final decisions have been made.
My guess is that they’ll give in to the zealots because they’re too afraid to crack down on them and upset the biased media and the progressives who dominate their faculty.
Will NYU bow to the extremists too? Protesters insist that despite all the arrests, their fight is not over:
While neither The New School nor NYU has canceled graduations yet, I would not be at all surprised if they do:
New York University and The New School have also seen students set up protests in recent weeks. But at both institutions, university-wide commencement ceremonies are scheduled to be held off-campus, in places that might be easier to secure.
The NYU commencement will be held at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, and The New School is scheduled to have its commencement at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens.
Neither school responded to a request for comment about commencement plans. [Emphasis mine.]
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I fully expect commencement ceremonies to be the next battleground, as the pro-Hamas crowd has made no secret of their intent to disrupt them. While I would love to see universities fight back, provide security, and tell these people where they can shove it, I wouldn’t count on it at this point and would not be at all surprised to see multiple graduation ceremonies canceled.
Pity the kids who worked hard and wanted nothing to do with this garbage in the first place. Remember, many of them graduated high school in 2020 and didn’t even get a ceremony. How cruel would it be to subject them to that again?
More madness:
Columbia Prez Breaks Silence on NYPD’s Raid on Pro-Hamas Mob, Statement Will Please Exactly No One
New: Columbia University Hands the Reins Back to Woke Students in Stunning Display of Cowardice