Comment: ‘Security risk’ excuse fails against peaceful protest

Police were called in to break up a protest at USC that included yoga, kite-making and a Jewish hymn reading.

By Sandy Tolan / For the Los Angeles Times

During Vietnam War protests, the Nixon administration called them “outside agitators.” Now my university’s provost prefers “participants, many of whom do not appear to be affiliated with USC.”

Beyond the misdemeanor of wordiness by University of Southern California official Andrew Guzman, the playbook is the same: Blame outsiders, as part of the justification for police action against students exercising their rights to question a heinous U.S. foreign policy that is killing tens of thousands of men, women and children half a world away.

In his statement to the USC community Wednesday, Guzman, provost and vice president for academic affairs, claimed that almost entirely peaceful protesters in Alumni Park were “threatening the safety of our officers.” USC officials determined that its own police were unable to contain the chanting, singing, marching-in-a-circle demonstrators. Agenda items for the student action, before it was broken up by police, included yoga, kite-making, Black/Palestinian solidarity, a Jewish Voice for Peace Kaddish hymn reading and a sunset vigil.

In the face of these allegedly threatening protests, USC officials shut down the campus and called in the Los Angeles Police Department. I watched riot-ready officers posted at 36th and Vermont with more than three dozen police cruisers. As the Daily Trojan reported, LAPD “officers in riot gear marched into campus at around 5:30 p.m. armed with 40-millimeter less-lethal [projectile] launchers, sponge batons and zip ties.” Later, according to USC Annenberg Media, which posted a video, police fired a rubber bullet into a crowd gathered outside the school’s main gate.

As Guzman pointed fingers, USC President Carol Folt appeared to be walled off in her office, steps from Tommy Trojan. Finally she broke her silence — to gush about USC football. While protesters chanted “USC, shame on you, your hands are bloody too,” Folt took her stand — applauding the reinstatement of Reggie Bush’s Heisman Trophy. “I am so happy for Reggie and the entire Trojan Family,” our president declared.

The surreal disconnect follows 10 days of disingenuous statements from USC leadership, which in apparent deference to donors, and perhaps with a nervous gaze at right-wing congressional attacks on university presidents, has trampled on students’ free speech rights, citing — unoriginally — “security risks.”

On April 15, USC canceled valedictorian Asna Tabassum’s graduation speech. Her pro-Palestinian views roiled backers of Israel.

“As always, and particularly when tensions are running so high across the world, we must prioritize the safety of our community,” Guzman rationalized, although no threats were specified. On Wednesday, this concern for our safety had transmogrified into a call for riot police to clear the “camp-in” at the center of campus. USC students and faculty were ostensibly protected by arresting 93 protesters who offered little to no real resistance.

Now USC may raise the stakes. The university’s Department of Public Safety announced to protesters last Wednesday that students who didn’t disperse could face suspension or expulsion. These same students presumably learned USC’s “Unifying Values”: to “stand up for what is right, regardless of status or power.” My university’s shameful doublespeak threatens to taint promising careers before they start. Professors arrested, including vulnerable untenured colleagues, may also face sanctions.

We should remember what the protests are about: According to Gaza officials, more than 34,000 Palestinians, some 14,000 of them children, have been killed by Israeli armed forces, with weapons supplied in part by U.S. taxpayers. Survivors driven from their homes face widespread famine. And as students at USC and other campuses realize, their Palestinian counterparts are victims of “scholasticide” — every university in Gaza has been damaged or destroyed.

Universities exist to advance knowledge, independent thinking and an open exchange of ideas. But USC is criminalizing protest and speech with the Orwellian charge of trespassing. This, for students assembling peacefully on their own university campus.

On Thursday, the PR-challenged USC leaders announced the cancellation of the university’s main commencement ceremony, the one at which Tabassum was to have spoken. Not to worry, though: University leadership promised to add “uniquely USC” celebrations, including performances by the Trojan Marching Band and the “releasing of the doves.” Uniquely USC, indeed.

Among protest organizers’ demands are calls for investment “transparency” and divestment from Israel. This will not come any time soon: USC is a private university and is unlikely to reveal its investments. But with the support of the USC community, another of the demands is feasible: full and unconditional amnesty for those who were arrested on Wednesday.

Student protesters and the faculty members who demonstrated along with them must not pay for the disastrous, unnecessary decisions of USC administrators to call in police to squelch legitimate protest and the free expression of ideas.

Sandy Tolan is a professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and the author of two books on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, “The Lemon Tree” and “Children of the Stone.”Follow him on X @sandy_tolan. ©2024 Los Angeles Times, latimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

Everett mayor Cassie Franklin delivers her State of the City address on Friday, March 28 in Everett, Washington. (Will Geschke / The Herald)
Editorial: The state of Everett amid the state of play

In her state of the city speech, Mayor Cassie Franklin makes the case for optimism amid dark clouds.

Comment: An ‘impossible trinity’ of goals for Trump’s tariffs

Trump wants revenue, manufacturing and foreign policy wins; he can’t get all three, if any.

Arrest of Mahmoud Khalil: Protect freedom of speech for all

It’s been weeks since Mahmoud Khalil was abducted from his home in… Continue reading

Trump’s, Musk’s cuts to education are most damaging

In my long life of service to my community, I have never… Continue reading

Property owners abuse Perrinville Creek watershed

This case history of property owners ignoring the law for instant self-gratification… Continue reading

Douthat: Trump’s Signalgate denials not impressing non-MAGA

Even 60 percent of Republicans polled said the scandal was a serious one.

Genna Martin / The Herald
Piles of wires, motherboards and other electronic parts fill boxes at E-Waste Recycling Center, Thursday. 
Photo taken 1204014
Editorial: Right to repair win for consumers, shops, climate

Legislation now in the Senate would make it easier and cheaper to fix smartphones and other devices.

The WA Cares law is designed to give individuals access to a lifetime benefit amount that, should they need it, they can use on a wide range of long-term services and supports. (Washington State Department of Social and Health Services)
Editorial: Changes to WA Cares will honor voters’ confidence

State lawmakers are considering changes to improve the benefit’s access and long-term stability.

A press operator grabs a Herald newspaper to check over as the papers roll off the press in March 2022 in Everett. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald file photo)
Editorial: Keep journalism vital with state grant program

Legislation proposes a modest tax for some tech companies to help pay salaries of local journalists.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Monday, March 31

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Comment: Hegseth isn’t unholding standards he vowed he would

Veterans are among the most critical of the Defense secretary for his lapse of security and protocol.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.