Lots of of Stanford College college students walked out of their commencement ceremony Sunday in a present of assist for Palestinians, capping a tumultuous 12 months on campus rocked by protests associated to the Israel-Hamas warfare.
Movies circulating on social media present a trickle of scholars, many waving kaffiyehs and Palestinian flags, rise up from their chairs as Stanford President Richard Saller delivers his speech to the graduating class. Inside minutes, a whole bunch will be seen streaming out of the stadium.
The walkout was deliberate by a pro-Palestinian scholar group, which had inspired college students to go away the formal ceremony and as a substitute go to a “Individuals’s Graduation” at a distinct location.
“We invite graduates, buddies, and household to stroll out of graduation … to point out assist for divestment and honor Palestine this commencement weekend,” the group wrote on Instagram.
Standing on a makeshift podium, a speaker on the various ceremony known as the walkout a “ultimate act of protest.”
“You’ve got made historical past with a record-breaking sit-in and an attractive encampment,” the speaker instructed the relocated crowd. “Immediately, you might be graduating with a head held excessive.”
The college didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Stanford has been rocked by protests this 12 months led by college students livid over mounting casualties of harmless Palestinians. This month, campus police arrested 13 pro-Palestinian protesters, made up of scholars and alumni, who had barricaded themselves contained in the president’s workplace. The college mentioned on the time that the scholars concerned have been suspended and that seniors have been instructed they might not graduate.
Final 12 months, protesters arrange a big encampment on campus, which turned the longest sit-in in Stanford historical past. Directors banned tenting in February “out of concern for the well being and security of our college students.” Activists arrange one other encampment on the similar plaza in April.
Occasions employees author Jaweed Kaleem contributed to this report.
