This comes after the university announced that valedictorian Asna Tabassum, a first-generation South Asian-American Muslim who has been outspoken about her pro-Palestinian views, would no longer be giving a speech at next month’s ceremony.
The University of Southern California has removed all outside speakers, including director Jon M. Chu, from its upcoming commencement ceremony amid controversy over its decision to cancel the valedictorian’s speech.
Just days after the university announced that it had canceled a pro-Palestinian student’s valedictorian speech, they released a memo on Friday announcing their decision to “release our outside speakers and honorees” from next month’s graduation.
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“To keep the focus on our graduates, we are redesigning the commencement program,” USC said, per ABC News. “Given the highly publicized circumstances surrounding our main-stage commencement program, university leadership has decided it is best to release our outside speakers and honorees from attending this year’s ceremony.”
Chu — best known for directing Crazy Rich Asians and the upcoming Wicked adaptation — was scheduled to be the 2024 commencement keynote speaker. He is also a USC alumnus. Meanwhile, tennis pro Billie Jean King was also among those set to speak.
This comes after the university announced in a letter to students on Monday that the student valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, would no longer be giving her speech at the commencement ceremony on May 10, over “safety” concerns.
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“The Office of the Provost is involved in commencement in many ways, including the selection of our undergraduate valedictorian. Unfortunately, over the past several days, discussion relating to the selection of our valedictorian has taken on an alarming tenor,” Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Andrew T. Guzman wrote in part. “The intensity of feelings, fueled by both social media and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, has grown to include many voices outside of USC and has escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement. We cannot ignore the fact that similar risks have led to harassment and even violence at other campuses.”
He went on to add, “After careful consideration, we have decided that our student valedictorian will not deliver a speech at commencement. While this is disappointing, tradition must give way to safety. This decision is not only necessary to maintain the safety of our campus and students, but is consistent with the fundamental legal obligation — including the expectations of federal regulators – that universities act to protect students and keep our campus community safe.”
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Tabassum, a first-generation South Asian-American Muslim, majored in biomedical engineering and minored in resistance to genocide, according to ABC News, per the Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.
She has been outspoken about her pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel views amid the Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East.
While speaking with ABC News Live’s Phil Lipof on Wednesday, Tabassum addressed USC’s decision, which has ignited controversy.
“The valedictorian honor is ultimately a unifying honor, right? It’s emblematic of USC’s unifying values. And I think I take that to heart,” she told Lipof. “I wanted my speech to be in the genre of a valedictory speech, and so that being said, I wanted to impart a message of hope. I also wanted to impart a message of responsibility.”
“We are given a wonderful set of higher education. We have been given the knowledge of learning how to learn,” she continued. “And so I wanted to encourage my peers to learn about the world and come to their own conclusions and then act to change the world in the ways that they see fit.
Tabassum concluded, “And so ultimately, taking in my role as valedictorian, I wanted to be a unifying voice for all students, and that was preemptively taken away from me.”
