VOA教育报道2024--Largely Peaceful Protests at US College Commencement

Protests over the Israel-Hamas war across U.S. college campuses have led to nearly 2,900 arrests at more than 50 schools in recent weeks. However, most graduation ceremonies over the weekend took place as planned. They also remained largely peaceful.

Duke University

At Duke University in North Carolina, about 30 of the 7,000 graduating students left their seats and shouted "Free Palestine" at the ceremony. Some protesters waved the red, green, black and white Palestinian flag.

The protesters opposed the selection of entertainer Jerry Seinfeld as this year's commencement speaker and honorary degree recipient¹. The comedian² and actor has publicly supported Israel's operation in Gaza to remove Hamas.

The Israeli offensive followed the Hamas attack on October 7 of last year that killed some 1,200 people in southern Israel. The war in Gaza has killed more than 35,000 people, including civilians³ and combatants. Those numbers come from Gaza's Health Ministry⁴ and are not independently confirmed.

Pomona College

Pomona College in Southern California moved its Sunday commencement to the Shrine⁵ Auditorium⁶ in Los Angeles. The move came after pro-Palestinian protesters set up an encampment on campus last week where the ceremony was supposed to take place.

Some pro-Palestinian demonstrators tried to block people from entering the graduation event in Los Angeles.

Anwar Mohmed is a Pomona student. He said the school repeatedly ignored calls to consider moving its investments from companies tied to Israel in the war in Gaza.

"We've been time and time again ignored by the institution," Mohmed said on Sunday. "So today we have to say, it's not business as usual."

Emerson College

Student protesters at Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, shouted during some of the speeches at the ceremony. Several speakers stopped briefly⁷ and then spoke⁸ louder. Some graduates took off and dropped their graduation gowns after receiving their degrees. Others wrote "free Palestine" on their special graduation hats or wore Palestinian keffiyeh head coverings.

University of California, Berkeley

At the University of California, Berkeley, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that a small group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators waved flags and shouted during commencement on Saturday. They were then moved to the back of the stadium. There were no major counterprotests.

University of North Carolina, Chapel⁹ Hill

The News & Observer reported that pro-Palestinian demonstrators poured red paint on the steps of a building at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The incident happened just hours ahead of the school's commencement.

University of Madison, Wisconsin

A small group of demonstrators at the University of Wisconsin-Madison organized a silent protest during commencement at Camp Randall Stadium.

A photo posted by the Wisconsin State Journal showed about six people walking through the back of the stadium. Two carried a Palestinian flag. A college spokesman said the group "was kind of guided out, but they left on their own." No arrests were made.

University of Texas at Austin

At the University of Texas at Austin, a student held up a Palestinian flag during Saturday's commencement. The person refused to leave briefly before being taken away by security.

Canceled ceremonies

Columbia University, in New York City, where student protests led to other demonstrations¹⁰ across the country, canceled its main graduation ceremony. It has instead held small gatherings¹¹ for graduates.

The University of Southern California, in Los Angeles, also canceled its main graduation ceremony. It had told a pro-Palestinian student that she could not deliver her speech out of security concerns.

Words in This Story

graduation - n. a ceremony in which degrees are given out

commencement - n. a ceremony in which degrees are given to students who have graduated

recipient - n. a person who receives something

combatant - n. a person, group that fights in a war or battle

1 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

2 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

3 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

4 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

5 shrine   

n.圣地，神龛，庙；v.将...置于神龛内，把...奉为神圣

参考例句：

• The shrine was an object of pilgrimage.这处圣地是人们朝圣的目的地。
• They bowed down before the shrine.他们在神龛前鞠躬示敬。

6 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

7 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

10 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

11 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。