Faculty at the University of Southern California voted to censure the university’s president and provost on Wednesday, citing the leadership’s poor handling of pro-Palestine student protests and decision to effectively cancel commencement.
The USC Academic Senate voted 21-7, with six abstentions, for censuring President Carol Folt and Provost Andrew Guzman.
Faculty were specifically critical of leadership’s decision to prevent valedictorian Asna Tabassum from speaking at the planned commencement ceremony, citing threats against her because of her pro-Palestinian views. Tabassum, a Muslim undergraduate, studied biomedical engineering and minored in genocide studies.
After protesters on campus organized a pro-Palestine encampment days later, the university decided to cancel the main stage commencement ceremony altogether. Folt cited enhanced security needs for the event, which was expected to bring about 65,000 people to campus.
Nearly 100 USC students were arrested by police over the encampment, part of a national movement of campus protests at over a hundred colleges and universities. Over 2,000 students have been arrested nationwide.
USC ordered Los Angeles police to completely clear the protest encampment overnight Sunday morning.
“The occupiers repeatedly chose to ignore university policies designed to benefit everyone, and to break the law. We needed to act quickly to protect the rights of our 80,000 students, staff, and faculty. We are in the critical period from the end-of-term quiet study week, through finals and our commencement ceremonies,” Folt wrote in a statement.
Barnard College similarly voted against its leadership last month over its response to protests, taking a vote of no confidence after Columbia University ordered students arrested for a pro-Palestine protest.
