metamatar-deactivated20250401:
link to petition
Tell USC To Reinstate Muslim Valedictorian’s Speech, Reject Anti-Palestinian and Anti-Muslim Hate
Fun fact: the 2022 valedictorian speech at USC commencement was by a student whose family is from Ukraine. He devoted the majority of his speech to talking about Ukraine. This is an UNBELIEVABLE double standard.
USC 2022 valedictorian brings global perspective to music world
She’s a South Asian muslim. We’re in full on war on terror mode.
The backlash against Tabassum, who was chosen as valedictorian by a university committee from more than 100 applicants with GPAs of 3.98 or above, was unusual, even at a time of intense campus strife between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel activists, because it didn’t involve anything she said or did. The opposition appeared to stem mostly from a link on her Instagram profile to a website she did not create.
The site, “Free Palestine Carrd,” features a photo of a woman raising a Palestinian flag above plumes of smoke during a 2018 protest near the Israel-Gaza border. A series of links explains how to “learn about what’s happening in Palestine.”
The links include statements that Zionism is a “racist settler-colonialist ideology” and that founders of Zionism thought “Palestinians needed to be ethnically cleansed from their homes.” The website explains proposals for two-state and one-state solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Citing safety concerns, USC cancels pro-Palestinian valedictorian’s graduation speech
[ID: Tweet by CAIR National (CAIRNational) reading: “Sign our LA chapter’s action alert calling on @USC reinstate the graduation speech of class of 2024 valedictorian Asna Tabassum, which the school cancelled in response to dishonest attacks and harassment from anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian bigots.” The tweet includes a photo of Tabassum, a hijabi with brown skin in a light green abaya, smiling at the camera. Overlaid text reads “Take action: Tell USC to reinstate Muslim valedictorian’s speech, reject anti-Palestinian and anti-Muslim hate. bit.ly/reinstante-asna”
*tired screaming* 🇵🇸 (@Ruth_Mensch) QRTed the tweet and added: “[all caps] she has. a minor. in genocide studies. from the USC Shoah Foundation. these bitches have lost the plot. [end caps] this is [all caps] shameful. [end caps]” End ID]
