The student, Asna Tabassum, accused the university of “caving to hatred.”
Earlier this month, the University of Southern California named Asna Tabassum this year’s undergraduate valedictorian and said she would give a speech at the school’s May commencement ceremony. Instead of getting to celebrate the hard-earned honor, the senior from Chino Hills, California — who identifies as a “first-generation South Asian Muslim” — was immediately targeted by pro-Israel groups, students, and alumni for expressing support for Palestine on social media. Then, on Monday, the university said Tabassum will no longer speak at graduation due to unspecified security concerns.
“Unfortunately, over the past several days, discussion relating to the selection of our valedictorian has taken on an alarming tenor,” Andrew T. Guzman, provost and senior vice-president for academic affairs, wrote in a statement. “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.”
USA Today reports that Tabassum’s critics complained to the university about her social-media activity. Her Instagram bio includes a link leading to a page that says “learn about what’s happening in Palestine, and how to help.” According to the Los Angeles Times, We Are Tov, a group “dedicated to combating antisemitism,” shared a photo of Tabassum on its Instagram, accused her of promoting “antisemitic writings,” and called her out for liking Instagram posts from the USC student group page Trojans for Palestine. Meanwhile, another campus group, Trojans for Israel, claimed Tabassum “openly traffics antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric.”
On Monday, the Los Angeles office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) called USC’s decision to cancel Tabassum’s speech “cowardly” and based on “a disingenuous concern for ‘security.’” Tabassum responded in a statement through CAIR, accusing the university of “caving to hatred.” She said that instead of enjoying the time since being chosen as valedictorian with her loved ones, “anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian voices have subjected me to a campaign of racist hatred because of my uncompromising belief in human rights for all,” Tabassum wrote. She concluded her statement: “I urge us to see past our deepest fears and recognize the need to support justice for all people, including the Palestinian people.”
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