The University of Southern California has really stepped in it after canceling the valedictorian's speech for "safety reasons."
School officials announced in early April they would not allow valedictorian Asna Tabassum to speak at commencement because of her anti-Israel statements on social media. Naturally, this upset a lot of people for many reasons, not the least of which was the violation of academic freedom.
So rather than deal with the fallout of more controversy from other speakers at the commencement ceremony, the school canceled them all.
Ms. Tabassum feigns ignorance.
“Although this should have been a time of celebration for my family, friends, professors, and classmates, 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 said in a statement earlier this week.
According to KTLA, it's apparent she believes in human rights for almost everybody. Except Jews.
"Tabassum’s social media pages were found with links to pro-Palestinian sites, with one link that called for a one-state Palestine solution to the conflict in the Middle East," reports the TV station.
Not to spoil the party but, just what does Tabassum want to do with the 9 million Jews currently living in that area "from the river to the sea"?
The school used "security" as an excuse to cancel her speech: “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.”
Unless they had a specific and credible threat, the Los Angeles Police Department should have been able to handle security for one, Muslim woman. It's a bogus excuse. Tabussum may be an antisemitic pig, but shutting down speech for any reason short of incitement to violence is anti-American.
And now, in order to prevent other speakers from picking up on Tabussum's theme of a Gaza ceasefire, the school has canceled all speakers at the May 10 commencement.
In a letter posted to the school's website, the university wrote that “given the highly publicized circumstances surrounding our main-stage commencement program,” they were going to “release our outside speakers and honorees from attending this year’s ceremony.”
“We’ve been talking to this exceptional group and hope to confer these honorary degrees at a future commencement or other academic ceremonies,” the unsigned letter said.
Set to deliver the main commencement address was "Crazy, Rich Asians" director Jon Chu, a 2002 graduate of USC. Also slated to speak and receive honorary degrees were tennis legend Billie Jean King, National Endowment for the Arts Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, and National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt. Would you accept another chance to speak from these cowards?
What was the excuse the school made for canceling the speakers?
But in Friday’s round of cancellations, USC did not indicate there was any safety issue. Instead, it said it wanted to “keep the focus on our graduates.” There did not appear to be wide backlash against Chu, King or others.
USC declined to offer an interview about the unraveling commencement with President Carol Folt, who a representative earlier this week said had the “final decision” on the Tabassum cancellation and security matters.
Any of those speakers denouncing the school for not letting a valedictorian speak would have given the school all the bad press it could handle.
From a PR standpoint, it was probably necessary. But the decision does not reflect well on the school's timid and milquetoast administration.
