The past week has seen pro-Palestine encampments sprout up on college campuses across the US, as students try to push universities to divest from financial ties to military companies.
At schools including Columbia, Yale, and NYU, dozens of students were suspended and arrested for their involvement in the protests, like Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) daughter and Barnard student, Isra Hirsi. The University of Southern California (USC) blocked its valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, from speaking at commencement over references to Palestine on her social media accounts, including a link to a site that some Jewish groups on campus criticized as antisemitic. The decision to stop Tabassum – who claims she had not yet written her valedictorian speech – from speaking led to protests and resignations from within USC. This morning at 7 am local time, USC students launched their own solidarity encampment; as this story prepared for publication,…