The 2024 University of Southern California (USC) commencement ceremony received a major change on Friday.
In an unprecedented move, USC removed valedictorian Asna Tabassum from her speaking slot in the ceremony. She was chosen from a field of 100 applicants but her selection soon came under scrutiny for anti-Israel and antisemitic posts on social media. So, for the first time, USC removed a controversial speaker from its graduation ceremony.
We can argue over whether or not she should be heard at the ceremony, expected to draw over 60,000 people, but Tabassum admitted she wanted to use her speech to inspire others but didn’t elaborate. Would her speech incite violence? The university gave public safety as the reason she was canceled. She called it discrimination. In light of what is happening on college campuses across the country, it looks like USC was using an abundance of…
