Several hundred University of Chicago students walked out of their graduation ceremony Saturday, in support of five students who had their diplomas withheld over their tent camp protest of the war between Israel and Hamas and their belief that the university is complicit.
University President Paul Alivasatos had just spoken as thousands packed the Quad for the ceremony, where the tent camp previously was. A couple students stood up with a banner reading “Let Our Classmates Graduate,” and then many more rose and started filling out.
The students chanted as rain started falling, then rallied on the street outside the ceremony.
Rayna Acha, one of the students who had their diplomas withheld, said that while some students had already planned to walk out, it appeared that others joined spontaneously.
“There’s no graduation if there’s no graduation in Gaza,” said another student not getting a diploma, Youssef Hasweh, referencing universities that have been destroyed in Gaza.
University officials, who did not return a message Saturday, have said the demonstrations prompted formal complaints including for "disruptive conduct," and would require further review. They previously defended withholding the diplomas by saying the school "adheres to a well-defined, faculty-led disciplinary system for disruptive conduct."
The five students involved were still able to participate in graduation, and can receive their degrees if they are later cleared after the university inquiry into alleged violations of campus policy, officials said.
Thousands of students and faculty members have signed a petition calling for the university to grant the degrees, while more than a dozen Chicago City Council members have penned a letter asking for the same.