The University of Southern California announced that it has canceled plans for a commencement speech by this year's valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, who is Muslim. The school said the decision stemmed from security concerns after several pro-Israel groups objected to her social media posts supporting Palestinians.
The decision drew immediate criticism from the Los Angeles office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and Ms. Tabassum, a biomedical engineering major.
“I am shocked by this decision and deeply disappointed that the university would succumb to a campaign of hate aimed at silencing my voice,” Tabassum said in a statement. She identifies herself as a first-generation South Asian American.
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, debates over free speech have engulfed many universities. University authorities have had to respond to intense debate over pro-Palestinian student protests, which many Jewish students and alumni say are often anti-Semitic. Protesters say the backlash is an attempt to censor their political beliefs.
The University of Southern California's decision to cancel the speech was announced Monday by President Andrew T. Guzman, who said he had made the final decision to select Mr. Tabassum.
“In recent days, the debate over the selection of valedictorians has gained alarming momentum,” Dr. Guzman wrote. “The intensity of emotion, fueled both by social media and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, has grown to involve many voices outside of the University of Southern California, raising the grave risks associated with initial security and disruption.” It has escalated to the point where it is being produced.”
Acknowledging that the decision to cancel the valedictorian speech departed from university tradition, Dr. Guzman added: “Let me be clear: this decision has nothing to do with free speech. There is no free speech right to speak at commencement ceremonies.”
The private university did not immediately respond to questions Tuesday about whether it had received any credible threats.
Tabassum could not immediately be reached for comment. In her written statement released on her behalf, she questioned her university's motives. “Significant questions remain as to whether the University of Southern California's decision to rescind my invitation to speak was made solely for safety reasons,” she wrote.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a Muslim civil rights group, issued a statement calling the decision to cancel the speech “despicable” and calling on the University of Southern California to retract.
The university announced on April 5 that Tabassum, a native of Chino Hills, California, will be the 2024 valedictorian. She was selected from among her more than 200 students who met the academic qualifications with a grade point average of 3.98 or higher. From that group, a selection committee of faculty members evaluated her more than 100 applicants.
Tabassum's selection announcement included volunteer work with Los Angeles-area nonprofits, including a mobile blood pressure clinic that visits homeless shelters and an organization she co-founded that distributes medical supplies to areas in need around the world. I mentioned it.
Shortly after the announcement, a campus group known as “Trojan Horse for Israel” issued a statement accusing Tabassum of “openly peddling anti-Semitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric.” The paper cited her social media bio, which includes a link to a page calling Zionism a “racist settler colonial ideology.” The group called on the university's president, Carol Folt, to reconsider Tabassum's selection.