Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
USA TODAY
Not a good look, USC: Cancel culture comes for colleges as graduation season begins
By Ingrid Jacques, USA TODAY,
12 days ago
Things are not well on America’s college campuses. The disgusting antisemitism that seems only to be building – and campus administrators’ lackluster response – has led to some truly frightening displays .
Violence and rule-breaking behavior must not be tolerated. Period.
Yet, higher education leaders cannot make an unsettling time an excuse to censor perfectly fine speech just because they fear a difficult situation.
College officials claimed they were concerned about the “alarming tenor” that had taken place on social media after Tabassum was named valedictorian. The ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza has led to increased tensions in the United States following Hamas’ brutal attack against Israel on Oct. 7.
Detractors were displeased about Tabassum’s support of Palestinians and accused her of “anti-semitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric.”
"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," Provost Andrew Guzman said in a statement . "This decision is not only necessary to maintain the safety of our campus and students, but is consistent with the fundamental legal obligation."
How is any of this fair to valedictorian Asna Tabassum?
Not only is USC’s decision an affront to free speech, it’s also fundamentally unfair to Tabassum, who undoubtedly worked hard in her years at the university to earn this achievement.
She shouldn’t have this experience taken from her.
Now, Tabassum may well have repugnant personal views and her speech may stoke division on campus. Even so, her academic accomplishments should not be undermined because of fears of possible violence and a speech she likely hadn’t even written yet.
Rather, the university should have committed to keeping her and others attending graduation safe. And if it knew of a tangible security threat, it should be upfront about that.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression faults USC for how it handled this situation . While USC is a private university, it commits to First Amendment-like free speech. And FIRE points to how California law requires private, secular colleges and universities to give students the same speech rights they’d have at the state’s public institutions.
“Implicit in the idea of a campus committed to robust expressive rights is that administrators won’t censor their students just because they have controversial views,” FIRE said in a statement .
Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store .
Adrian College offers a better way to handle controversy
Meanwhile, administrators at private Adrian College in Michigan are handling their own “controversy” in much better fashion.
Gaines, who is often described in the media as an “ anti-trans rights activist ,” is a lot more than that. She is an accomplished former NCAA competitive swimmer who became well-known after she tied transgender swimmer Lia Thomas in the 200-yard NCAA freestyle championship race in 2022.
Following that experience, Gaines has become an outspoken defender of fairness in women’s sports and speaks frequently on the issue at universities around the country.
“Adrian College has never shied away from presenting and debating substantive disagreements on campus,” Adrian President Jeffrey Docking said in a news release. "In fact, this is precisely the purpose of universities – to engage in civil discourse of controversial issues. We welcome Riley Gaines to our beautiful campus, and we feel confident our students will be inspired by her commencement address.”
I hope Docking and fellow administrators stay firm in their commitment. And even though it may be embarrassing for USC to backtrack, it should reinstate valedictorian Tabassum as a speaker at commencement.
More than ever, college students need examples of what free expression really looks like.
Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at ijacques@usatoday.com or on X, formerly Twitter: @ Ingrid_Jacques .
Get updates delivered to you daily. Free and customizable.
Welcome to NewsBreak, an open platform where diverse perspectives converge. Most of our content comes from established publications and journalists, as well as from our extensive network of tens of thousands of creators who contribute to our platform. We empower individuals to share insightful viewpoints through short posts and comments. It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency: our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. We strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation. Join us in shaping the news narrative together.
Comments / 0