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'My school abandoned me': California university cancels pro-Palestinian student's commencement speech
(www.middleeasteye.net)
this post was submitted on 16 Apr 2024
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to your first point:
yes, it does, and that sucks. but i just don't see how it's reasonable to risk the lives of possibly thousands of attendees for the sake of a graduation speech.
secondly:
that very well may be, and i don't really know enough to comment about it. others have mentioned this, and, if so, that really is shitty. the school really ought to have done more to protect her and take action against those who have threatened her, as well as considered making this an online/virtual speech, as has also been suggested by others.
lastly:
given that this is a graduation speech by a student, not a major speaking engagement by, say, a world leader or other major social/political figure that might attract national/global attention and, perhaps, a gigantic -paying - crowd, i wouldn't expect any university to shell out the big bucks for a major security presence beyond standard campus safety officers. but i see your point.
one last thing...
i think it's more likely that they just don't want the trouble of dealing with any of it and the potential liabilities, but it could easily be a mix of both.
It's not my opinion, but it's fair, your points are logical, and I have no reason to believe you are motivated by anything unethical :) We've just come to different conclusions about this one specific event, which is A-OK in my books. I don't even agree all the time with the people I agree with the most. For what it's worth I've given you upvotes both times for making sense.
i appreciate that.
You're essentially agreeing with everyone here: they don't want to deal with it, for whatever reason. It's not that they can't (which is the reason they've given) it's that they don't want to.
And that's seemingly everyone's problem here. Which begs the question: why? This is their graduation ceremony. It's tradition that the valedictorian give a speech. If they can secure it, as they've proven multiple times in the past of being capable of doing, then there is some other reason why they aren't doing it.
I think any reasonable person not blinded by their own bias in this case can see why: the pro-israeli bloc in this country is many orders of magnitude more powerful than the pro-palenstinian bloc. It's a calculated economic/political position...take the heat from a small group of passionate people for a short while, or anger a large powerful group.
"Safety" is just a good excuse that allows them to mask the real reason. As we all agree, including you, that they are perfectly capable of actually securing it.