On a memorable day that was supposed to be a photo shoot at a historic site on campus, a Jewish graduate student was forced to confront anti-Semitism head-on at a prestigious school that had been shaken by anti-Israel radicals, the student told FOX. He told News Digital.
“We were walking around the campus to take some good photos and went to a historical site, and we were followed. Two people from that encampment stalked us and harassed us. They followed us for probably 20 minutes. They really wanted to come up to us and hit us in the face,” graduate student Mark Rayant told Fox News this month. He said this in a digital interview.
Ryant will graduate with a master’s degree this year, but like many of her fellow students, she won’t be able to fully enjoy her graduation ceremony because of the anti-Israel agitators at the school. The University of Southern California was the first major U.S. university to cancel a major graduation ceremony due to violent protesters, and schools such as Emory University and Columbia University also canceled their ceremonies soon after.
This weekend, Los Angeles police in riot gear took over the flanks of the campus and removed agitators from an anti-Israel encampment. There, students and outside protesters were demanding that the school sever its economic ties with Israel. The student-led group USC Divest from Death Coalition has made six demands, including a ban on campus policing, a full amnesty for school officials who were disciplined for the protests, and an end to study abroad programs. The list was announced in detail. Israel.
University of Southern California students speak of disappointment after graduation ceremony canceled due to anti-Israel protests
Mark Leant, a graduate student at the University of Southern California, stands next to the school’s anti-Israel camp. (Mark Rayant)
Sunday’s encampment clearing was the second time since last month that police have cleared the campus and removed protesters.
Graduation ceremonies will begin this week in addition to the main ceremony, but Leant explained to Fox News Digital that he recently decided to take photos with a friend at the graduation ceremony before officially receiving his diploma.
“I came to campus to take graduation photos as a memento for my family.I came wearing a shirt I bought at a Jewish organization and a dog tag representing a hostage who is still being held hostage. Many of those in captivity are American citizens,” Rayant said.
Later, as he patrolled the campus, he noticed two anti-Israel agitators following him.
Mark Leyant, a graduate student at the University of Southern California, and anti-Israel agitators are visible in the background. (Mark Rayant)
“Their attempts are to bully us, to intimidate us, to instill fear in us, to silence us. To make us disappear. But they won’t do that,” he said. continued.
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On Monday, May 6, 2024, a USC student was arrested by campus police at USC Village during an anti-Israel protest on campus in Los Angeles. (Jason Almond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Ryant said he took matters into his own hands and confronted the instigators, saying Jews on campus would not be “silenced” by extremists.
“I walked up to them and said, ‘If you’re brave, if you really want to follow me, would you like to come and take a picture with me?’ I told them, I don’t mean to scare them. I said, “Because we deserve to be here,” I said, “I’ve worked hard at this facility, and I’ve worked hard to give back,” creating an organization that helps people in need. We deserve to celebrate graduation, whether or not bullies and attackers try to intimidate us out of the celebration. Yes,” he said.
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On April 24, 2024, anti-Israel demonstrators occupied USC’s Alumni Park in Los Angeles. (Sarah Reingewirtz/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
The instigators, who Ryant believes one of them was a student, hung around for a while after being confronted, he recalled. The graduate student and his friend then left the scene and never saw the instigators again. Ryant said he plans to report the suspected student to campus authorities.
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The engineering graduate reflected on the Holocaust in a conversation with Fox News Digital, explaining that while family members who survived the Holocaust have since passed away, he spoke with other survivors amidst the chaos on campus.
“As a member of the community, I am very happy to be able to interact with Holocaust survivors who are still alive. Unfortunately, my grandparents have passed away. May their memory be a blessing. , I have a Holocaust survivor that I’m in constant contact with,” he said.
Demonstrators confront security guards during a protest on the University of Southern California campus. (Robert Hanashiro/USA Today)
Ryant said his mentor told him he had never seen anything “on this level,” even when he was sent to Auschwitz.
“When I asked him, what he said…’Ever since you were little, even before you were taken to Auschwitz, have you ever seen anything like this?’ And he said to me, “Even when I was arrested and taken to Auschwitz, I had never seen anything like this in public in my life, because the Germans They knew that the Western society around them was not like that.” They condoned such behavior and tried to hide it, and the hatred was there, but it wasn’t on your surface. “The whole world is crying death, wishing death on Jews and openly attacking them, on a completely unprecedented scale,” he continued.
A visitor is seen inside the former Auschwitz I concentration camp in Oswiecim, Poland, on January 27, 2023. (Artur Widak/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Leant said the students were being indoctrinated with “radical” ideologies by “outside forces” and were rebelling against American values.
“These are people with a Marxist ideology. They have Marxist values. They want to see our institutions destroyed, undermined, and set in flames. They want to see America “They don’t like capitalism. They don’t like what America stands for, and they need to be stopped,” he said.
Los Angeles Police Department officers in riot gear leave the University of Southern California after clearing an anti-Israel encampment in Los Angeles, Sunday, May 5, 2024. (Jason Almond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
The University of Southern California’s major commencement ceremony was thrown into turmoil last month after a student with anti-Israel views was elected valedictorian, and the school subsequently canceled her speech, citing safety concerns. The Muslim student called for the end of Israel in a social media post, and she defended her views in subsequent media interviews.
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“The biggest disappointment was hearing from the university that they canceled her, completely silenced her, and essentially made the Jewish community a scapegoat. It ended up putting a target on the backs of Jewish students. And what came out of that?’ It’s just an incredible wave of vile anti-Semitism across the university. It truly represented a catastrophic failure of leadership,” Leant said.
On May 7, 2024, anti-Israel demonstrators gathered in front of the University of Southern California campus the day before graduation ceremonies were scheduled to begin in Los Angeles. (Tama Mario/Getty Images)
A few days later, the main graduation ceremony was canceled as on-campus protests continued and critics accused the school of “giving in to campus terrorists.” The canceled graduation ceremony marks the second time Leiant will not wear a cap and gown on stage, as the university’s graduation ceremony took place during pandemic lockdown orders.
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“If you’re concerned about this, just like I’m concerned about this, please contact your representatives, contact your congressman, contact your mayor. “If you disagree with your university leadership, write to your university leadership.” If you think they mishandled the situation, now. Now is the time to speak up and show that we have a voice. Because I think there are these evil people., I think the people who are harassing us and trying to destroy our democracy, there are too many of them,” Ryant said.
