Graduating students warily approach commencements after protests roil campuses

In the lead-up to Emerson College's main commencement ceremony on Sunday, senior Jeanie Thompson is feeling anticipation. She got her hair done mid-week and she's getting excited to see family and friends, some of whom are coming from out of town.

"I am attending graduation because at this point I think that I deserve it," Thompson said. "I worked really hard throughout college to attend Emerson and pay my way through college."

Across the Boston region, tens of thousands of college seniors will walk across the stage in the coming days to mark graduation. But this year's commencement season has also sparked a range of emotions among students who have seen their campuses embroiled in protests over the war in Gaza.

Students have set up encampments on main campus grounds and held rallies and marches. The tensions have spilled over into suspension notices and threats of academic discipline at some campuses and, in some places, arrests.

Thompson was one of 118 students at Emerson who were arrested when Boston police shut down a student encampment in an alleyway by the school in the early morning hours of April 25. She was also barred from entering Emerson buildings or attending school events for two days, and ordered by the court to complete 20 hours of community service following her arrest.

Thompson said she's not planning any disruptive actions at commencement but intends to show her support for Palestine in other ways. She painted her nails the colors of the Palestinian flag and plans to wear pins on her gown that bear pro-Palestinian messages.

"I just got a tattoo for Palestine," she said. "I'm very much down for the cause. I'm planning to show up and show out as much as I can."

But Thompson added that many of her fellow protesters at Emerson don't feel as comfortable going to graduation this year and shaking President Jay Bernhardt's hand. Displeasure toward administration is clear: Shortly after the arrests occurred, Emerson's Student Government Association unanimously passed a resolution calling on Bernhardt to step down.

Instead, Thompson says, several protesters chose to attend Emerson's intercultural graduation ceremony — a small event for students who identify as students of color and LGBTQ — earlier this week.

For some students involved in the pro-Palestinian protests, like MIT senior Safiyyah Ogundipe, going to commencement isn't an option.

Ogundipe is an organizer of MIT's protest movement. The student encampment on the lawn, Kresge Oval, was one of the longest-running in the region — lasting close to three weeks. Officials began clearing the encampment early Friday morning shortly after campus police and Cambridge police clashed with student protesters outside the Stata Center Thursday afternoon.

MIT officials gave Ogundipe notice Wednesday evening that she had been suspended. She hasn't been evicted from student housing yet, but it's unclear if she'll be able to receive her diploma after commencement occurs at MIT on May 30.

"It's all a bit of new territory," Ogundipe said. "We're going to have to take it one step at a time."

When it comes to commencement planning, officials at MIT said they "do not publicly discuss the specifics of any internal safety plans ahead of an event." But in a statement, a school spokeswoman said just like every year, MIT will "engage in wide-ranging scenario planning" in coordination with campus police, the city of Cambridge and emergency responders.

Despite the safety preparations happening behind the scenes, some students say they don't have high hopes for a smooth event. Marilyn Meyers, a graduating senior at MIT, says she's worried that the ceremony will either be canceled or interrupted. She describes it as a "lose-lose situation."

"To have it interrupted by protesters would be very frustrating," said Meyers. "Mentally, I kind of know it's going to happen, so at least it won't be a surprise." Still, Meyers said she looks forward to marking the occasion.

"The point of graduation is to celebrate four years of hard work and celebrate it with my family who supported me through it and helped me get here," she said.

Northeastern University was one of the first large area schools to hold commencement last Sunday. The ceremony was briefly interrupted by a pro-Palestinian student who was eventually removed by police.

Across the country, several main commencements have been canceled due to fears of security or disruption after police arrests and other clashes between students and administrations. Both Columbia University in New York and University of Southern California canceled their main event — while elsewhere, scheduled commencement speakers have withdrawn over the treatment of protesters, including novelist Colson Whitehead from UMass Amherst where 132 student protesters were recently arrested.

At Tufts University, where a protest encampment lasted for nearly two weeks before students voluntarily disbanded it, school leaders say they're committed to maintaining an environment for commencement that will allow students and families to celebrate "safely and peacefully," according to spokesman Patrick Collins. He added the school has been communicating to participants about behavior expectations and additional security.

Tufts' graduation is scheduled for May 19.

Meantime, Harvard's commencement is scheduled to occur May 23. That campus has seen a student protest encampment at Harvard Yard since April 24. Interim president Alan Garber recently implored student protesters to clear out so the university can start making preparations, while warning of sanctions and disciplinary notices.

"The members of the Class of 2024 deserve to enjoy this milestone uninterrupted and unimpeded," Garber said. "It would be especially painful if students who graduated from high school or college during the pandemic were denied a full graduation ceremony for a second time."