By Maria Ortiz
04 May 2024, 18:11 PM EDT
Several universities and colleges in the United States began holding graduation events on Saturday and will soon start classes, while student protests against the war in Gaza continue, despite arrests of protesters and police control on some campuses.
The University of Michigan and Indiana University have graduation ceremonies scheduled for Saturday, while Ohio State University and Northeastern University have graduation ceremonies scheduled for Sunday.
Dozens of students interrupted the graduation ceremony this Saturday that was taking place at the University of Michigan stadiumbut the event continued without the need to arrest protesters.
The educational center authorities had warned before the graduation that their security personnel was ready to respond to any act of boycott against the ceremony.
The University of Vermont announced that the US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, will no longer deliver the planned speech at the ceremony, as the new graduates “deserve a weekend of celebration.”
While Indiana University established areas for students to protest outside the grounds where graduation will take place on Saturday night.
According to the local press, The University of Connecticut has banned signs and banners from weekend graduation ceremonies. and has installed metal detectors at its entrances.
On Friday, Denver Police rejected a request from the University of Colorado to vacate the protest camp established at one of its centers as it is considered a “peaceful” protest.
In other public and private universities in the country, however, the camps have been evicted alleging that they promote “anti-Semitism”, in operations that have left more than 2,500 students detained.
The demonstrators are protesting against US support for the Israeli offensive on the Gaza Strip and demanding that universities cut any ties with institutions linked to Israel.
President Biden defended students’ right to peacefully protest on Thursday, but condemned aggressive actions on campuses across the country as students demonstrate against the war between Israel and Hamas.
“There is a right to protest, but there is no right to cause chaos,” Biden said.
Keep reading:
– “Genocide Joe”: how protests at US universities show that the conflict in Gaza threatens Biden’s re-election
– “Princeton makes money from death”: what is the “divestment” in Israel that students demand from US universities?
– “The whole world is watching, we will resist”: police dismantle the pro-Palestinian UCLA student camp