Commencement: the start of something new.
Or, for university students, it’s the celebration marking the formal end to their rigorous college experience and the beginning of their post-graduate lives. Whether they are starting a full time job, continuing their education or unsure of what is coming next, commencement ceremonies are traditionally a rite of passage for undergraduate students to be recognized for their four years of hard work.
But this year’s graduating cohort at USC will receive no such closure.
The university announced via email on Thursday that the main commencement ceremony would no longer take place as scheduled. The ceremony, which according to the announcement, sees around 65,000 graduates and their families in attendance each year, will instead be replaced with a performance by the Trojan Marching Band and various other small events – unspecified as of Friday, April 26 – throughout the day.
The announcement closely follows other major restructuring choices, with the valedictorian, Asna Tabassum’s, speech cancellation and no external speakers or honorary degrees to be awarded. The lack of a main commencement ceremony has turned the “normal” USC graduation experience – a dream for many – on its head.
The decision to cancel the main event comes after members of USC pro-Palestine organization Divest From Death were forcibly expelled from campus Wednesday by Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and Department of Public Safety (DPS) personnel. The multi-hour long standoff resulted in close to 100 arrests.
The satellite ceremonies, during which students will get the opportunity to walk across the stage and collect their commemorative diplomas, are still slated for May 10. But many are still dismayed by the most recent news.
The lack of a proper commencement comes as a particular ‘disappointment’ for the class of 2024 – composed of students who did not have normal high school graduation ceremonies due to Covid-19 restrictions.
Taylor Marie Contarino, a pre-law track progressive degree candidate who is graduating in May 2024 with her bachelor’s degree in journalism and a minor in music industry, said her high school graduation in 2020 was particularly upsetting. She graduated through a pre-recorded Youtube video.
“I was raised by a single mom, so, it’s just difficult because I was so excited for my mom to see me graduate. I was so excited for my grandma to see me graduate,” Contarino said. “Graduating high school meant a lot to me. I know it’s not the biggest deal to other people, but it meant so much to me.”
Soley Liati is a business major, emphasizing on economics and finance, graduating in May 2024. Similar to Contarino, her high school graduation ceremony was a Zoom slideshow.
“It was so anti-climatic. [...] It was on Zoom, and all they did was a slideshow [and] each student got a slide,” Liati said. “It felt very sad, but we still tried to make the best out of it.”
Journalism student and graduating senior Zifei Zhang had a drive-through high school graduation ceremony, a style of commencement popular during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic in spring 2020.
“It was just really disappointing because I wanted it to be like a moment where I got to celebrate with my teachers, to celebrate with my peers and actually get to feel a sense of community after four years of suffering, and [...] getting through it together,” Zhang said of the experience.
Although Liati was unsure if she would be attending the main commencement at USC, the decision being made for her by the outright cancellation was upsetting.
“You only graduate college once, at least [for] undergrad. Of course I want to [enjoy] our special day. The main commencement is going to make you feel special, from all the speeches to just seeing everyone come together,” Liati said. “It’s very emotional and beautiful, because you’re like, ‘all my hard work is finally paying off!’ So, it’s kind of sad that there’s less events that [will] celebrate the graduating seniors.”
Some students continue to speak out in support of all groups who are still protesting on campus amid additional campus safety measures; they believe that commencement should not be canceled due to the “security concerns” expressed by the university.
“Just because there are students who are exercising their right to free speech [...], it doesn’t mean that everybody should be punished,” Zhang said. “Students deserve to have their right to free speech [...] and students also deserve to have a beautiful graduation that celebrates who they are.”
In his April 15 announcement, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Andrew T. Guzman stated that the decision to cancel Asna Tabassum’s speech was not related to freedom of speech, going on to say “there is no free-speech entitlement to speak at a commencement.” Other students have taken issue with this.
“I want to acknowledge all of my peers who are out there standing up for what they believe in [...] I want to just say that first, I know that there’s people on the other side of the world dying and it would be naive of me not to acknowledge them,” Contarino said addressing the decisions having been influenced by controversies around ‘free speech on campus.’”At the end of the day, [...] I would love to have a commencement ceremony. Because it does mean a lot to me as, again, I’m [my mom’s] first kid to go to school and one of the first in our family to go away to college.”
Given the speed with which USC has announced changes to the commencement day schedule – with the rescinding of valedictorian and honorary degree recipients’ respective speeches, and, most recently, the outright cancellation of the main ceremony all coming within only two weeks – some graduates are concerned that the satellite ceremonies could be in danger as well.
“I just hope they don’t cancel our satellite graduations because that is what is most important to me, especially because I missed out on my high school graduation,” Liati said.
On Friday afternoon, USC President Carol Folt released a statement in support of the university’s collaboration with LAPD and DPS on protesters – and doubled down on the decision to cancel the main commencement ceremony.
“[...] We remain focused on what commencement means for all our graduates. This is especially true for our seniors who did not have a high school graduation and spent their first university year online,” Folt wrote. The statement went on to say that “new activities, surprises, and celebrations” are being planned ahead of May 10 without diving into specific details.
Despite the seemingly concrete changes to the commencement docket, some still hold out hope that the main commencement ceremony will be reinstated.
“I want [the] main commencement to come back. And you know, if there’s protests, even better! Student voices deserve to be heard. Also, the valedictorians and salutatorians, I don’t know if they’ll be able to speak, and that’s even worse, because they’ve worked so hard,” Zhang said.
The second graduation ceremony snub in four years has left many 2024 graduates disillusioned with the administration; some students are directing their frustration with the university’s recent choices toward Folt and Guzman.
“You have not served the needs and the wants of the student body. [...] You have enacted violence against the students. And that is not your job – you should step down,” Zhang said.
USC’s recent manner in handling dissent has also negatively affected students’ personal relationship with the university.
“I don’t think I will ever be active as an alum, ever. I’ve already had problems with USC [...] but seeing what has happened on campus [now], I’m never going to donate,” Zhang said. “This is not an institution that I believe in anymore.”