CHICAGO — Dozens of students protesting the Gaza war boycotted the University of Chicago’s graduation ceremony on Saturday after the school withheld diplomas from a senior student for his ties to a pro-Palestinian camp.
The two-hour outdoor ceremony, held in the rain, was briefly interrupted by shouting, booing and calls to “stop the genocide.” Groups of students walked out between speeches and demonstrated after the ceremony, some holding Palestinian flags and chanting slogans, while others wore kaffiyehs, traditional black-and-white checked scarves worn over their robes to signify Palestinian solidarity.
Four graduates, including Yousef Haweh, were recently notified in an email that their degrees would be withheld pending the completion of disciplinary proceedings related to complaints about the camp, according to the University of Chicago Palestine Coalition, a student group.
“My diploma means nothing because there are people in Palestine and Gaza who will never stand on stage or receive their diploma again. What will happen to them? Who will fight for them?” Haweh said in a statement on Saturday.
University officials acknowledged the strike in a statement and said the university was “committed to protecting the rights of students to express a wide range of views.”
In recent weeks, protest camps have popped up across the United States and Europe, and students have boycotted graduation ceremonies at Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and other universities.
Students are demanding that universities stop doing business with companies that they say support Israel and the war in Gaza.
Organizers are seeking to reinforce calls for an end to Israel’s war with Hamas, which they call a genocide against Palestinians.
University officials said in a statement that a small demonstration took place after the graduation ceremony when protesters tried to enter a blocked road, resulting in the arrest of one person unaffiliated with the university.
The University of Chicago encampment was cleared on May 7.
Authorities initially took a tolerant stance but later said the protests had gotten out of hand and raised concerns about safety.
A group temporarily occupied a building on the school grounds.
University officials said the demonstration gave rise to a formal complaint, including “disruptive conduct,” which would require further investigation.
Students will be able to attend graduation ceremonies and receive their degrees if the university is cleared following an investigation into alleged violations of campus rules.
The university had no comment Saturday about the diploma.
Thousands of students and faculty signed a petition calling on the university to award the degrees, and more than a dozen Chicago City Council members also wrote a similar urging.
