LOS ANGELES — A rally by pro-Palestinian students at USC became chaotic after campus police confronted protesters who tried to set up an encampment at the school’s Alumni Park, according to Los Angeles ABC station KABC. The university’s commencement ceremony is scheduled to occur in Alumni Park on May 10.
Last week, USC canceled the valedictorian’s speech out of safety concerns considering her pro-Palestinian views, sparking backlash. The student, Asna Tabassum, is a first-generation South Asian-American Muslim who majored in biomedical engineering and minored in resistance to genocide, according to a statement published through the Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
A rally by pro-Palestinian demonstrators turned chaotic at USC’s Alumni Park, as police confronted protesters who attempted to set up an encampment on campus.
Dozens of students and others have issued a list of demands, including the university’s divestment, similar to demands from students on other campuses, according to sister station KABC.
USC police officers began attempting to clear the encampment of tents and signs before Los Angeles Police Department officers joined the effort, according to KABC
USC said it will be closing its campus to the public with “significant activity at the center of the [main] campus due to a demonstration,” it said in a post on X.
“The gates are closed, so anyone coming to campus should be prepared to show an ID at the gates for class or for business,” USC said.
DEVELOPING: More details will be added to this report as they become available.
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