Pro-Palestine student protests continue at weekend commencement ceremonies

Pro-Palestinian protests continued this weekend at several universities, with students planning to send a message during graduation ceremonies.

Students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill protested outside a campus building and splashed red paint on the building’s stairs. The News and Observer reported.

“Today is UNC’s graduation ceremony, and students have set up camp in the famous bell tower, and many graduates will want to have their graduation photos taken.” Palestine National Justice Student Posted online.

After the president’s graduation speech, the students walked up the center aisle carrying two Palestinian flags. They were booed and people chanted “USA!” The newspaper said the people were taken away by police.

Last week, students demonstrating at the University of North Carolina threw objects and clashed with counter-protesters who held American flags on campus and activists who tried to replace them with Palestinian flags.

The scene resonated with people across the country, and a GoFundMe was set up to throw a “rager” at the men in the fraternity. We raised over $500,000.

In Wisconsin, several students quietly protested the war. About 20 students stood and turned away as University of Wisconsin-Madison President Jennifer Mnookin delivered the ceremonial address. Wisconsin Public Radio reported.

Some students wore messages such as “There is no university in Gaza” and “Free Palestine.” A group of students carrying Palestinian flags were escorted out of the stadium by police.

In Virginia, about 100 Virginia Commonwealth University graduates walked out of a ceremony to protest Governor Glenn Youngkin’s speech. They were protesting the ongoing war and Yonkin ideology.

The graduation protests follow weeks of demonstrations at more than 400 universities across the country. From the Ivy League to small universities, students are demanding that their schools divest from Israeli companies or companies with ties to Israel.

More than 2,000 people have been arrested as universities grapple with how to balance free speech and disruption on campus.