(NewsNation) — University of Southern California student Layla MohEyeldin should be preparing to walk across the stage at her college graduation.
The university, however, canceled its commencement ceremony amid ongoing pro-Palestinian protests on campus. The cancelation is the latest development in what MohEyeldin called a “pattern of constant overreaction.”
Protests began last week after the school canceled its valedictorian’s graduation speech. The administration cited safety concerns after valedictorian Asna Tabassum received backlash for posting about aid for Gaza.
MohEyeldin is disappointed in the decision, campus security’s handling of the protests and the news media’s coverage of the demonstrations.
“I’ve seen the coverage, and I don’t know about all the other universities in the country, but I can say that the coverage does not seem fair,” MohEyeldin said. “Yes, there was anger. There was frustration, but true escalations didn’t happen until we had DPS, campus security, and LAPD showing up in riot gear.”
The university’s campus is among those where pro-Palestinian protests have drawn national attention and a heavy police presence.
Columbia University students took similar action last week. Protesters erected tents and stayed on campus in opposition to Israel’s military action in Gaza. The students are demanding the university divest from companies they say “profit from Israeli apartheid.”
Police have arrested scores of students at campuses throughout the country as tension builds, but it’s the police, not demonstrators, who escalated the protests on USC’s campus, MohEyeldin said.
“I think standing there, watching our campus security put the visors down on their helmets, take out their batons and turn to us was just a moment of deep, profound realization that this administration, they may represent its students, but it doesn’t represent me, and it certainly didn’t represent all of us who were at the protest,” she said.
At a recent sit-in, security told students their picnic blankets might lead to campus encampments, MohEyeldin said.
“I think this administration … (is) trying to learn from what’s happening on other campuses, and I think they’re trying to prevent campus disruption,” MohEyeldin said. “But I think they’re also facing a lot of pressure from outside forces, and that’s why they’ve reacted so catastrophically.”