Universities across the country are gearing up for another weekend of commencement ceremonies on Saturday following weeks of pro-Palestinian protests that have led to nearly 3,000 arrests, according to an NBC News tally.
Dozens of students walked out of the Virginia Commonwealth University ceremony Saturday morning as Gov. Glenn Youngkin delivered the commencement address, video posted on X showed.
After several people were arrested last week at the school as police dismantled encampments on college campuses, VCU said on its website ahead of commencement that disruptions at the ceremony were strictly prohibited.
But student groups, including the VCU chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, moved forward with a “silent walkout” to protest Youngkin’s policies and his role in the arrests of pro-Palestinian student protesters in April.
On Saturday, students dressed in caps and gowns quietly marched toward the back of the Greater Richmond Convention Center, prompting some people in the crowd to erupt in cheers.
The Commonwealth Times, the university’s student newspaper, said in a post on X that the walkout was “in protest of Gov. Glenn Youngkin appearing as the keynote speaker.”
Other footage posted on X showed a group of people, including some graduates, outside the convention center chanting and holding signs, including one that read, “No graduation as usual.”
Attendees who left the convention center after the ceremony began would not be allowed to re-enter, the school said.
The university declined to comment on Saturday.
The University of Southern California in Los Angeles has held weeklong commencement events after canceling its main stage ceremony due to safety concerns over student protests. It also scrapped Muslim student Asna Tabassum’s valedictorian speech, a move that further inflamed tensions on campus. USC Provost Andrew Guzman said they canceled Tabassum’s speech because of safety concerns amid tensions related to “the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.”
Tabassum, who said the university’s decision was thinly veiled racism, walked the stage in a commencement ceremony Friday night and received loud applause from students and spectators, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Joel Curran, senior vice president of communications, told the newspaper that the ceremony was “joyful, celebratory,” with “no disruptions.”
The University of California, Berkeley, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Executive MBA Program, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Texas at Austin will hold ceremonies throughout Saturday.
Like other universities, the schools implemented additional safety measures and said disruptions would not be tolerated. Officials at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said graduates have to present their student ID card to enter Kenan Stadium and reminded students of free speech laws and policies that include a range of disciplinary actions for those who substantially interfere with another person’s protected free speech.
“This includes protests that limit the ability of others to hear a speaker,” the school said on its website. “The University respects the rights of peaceful protesters. While anyone — including students, faculty and staff — may gather and exercise their rights to free speech, state law and the Board of Governors policy prohibit significant disruption of University operations.”
The school — which has seen several campus protests and subsequent arrests — warned that anyone who does not comply “will be subject to arrest.”
University of Texas at Austin President Jay Hartzell, who has been under fire from faculty and students for calling in state troopers to arrest protesters, said in a video message that the 2024 class of about 10,800 graduates deserves to have a commencement but warned that there will be “no tolerance for any disruption to your special and hard-earned achievement.”
UT would not say if it was increasing security ahead of the celebration and issued a detailed guideline on its clear-bag policy and what items would be strictly prohibited. Brian Davis, UT’s spokesman for issues and crisis communication, said those rules have been in place for previous graduations but that the university was being more explicit about them this year.