Leaders, Community Organizations Gather to Demand UCSD Allow Students to Graduate. (SAN DIEGO, CA – 06/06/2024)
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, San Diego (CAIR-SD), today gathered with faith communities, civil rights, social service and immigrant rights organizations to stand in solidarity with seven UCSD seniors who received notice their transcript and degree were placed on hold and would not be allowed to graduate on June 16 with their classmates. Students have been notified the hold is in relation to their participation in UCSD’s student encampment, where 65 UCSD students and faculty were arrested for their participation in peaceful protest against the Israeli-U.S. genocide.
[NOTE: CAIR is now using the term “Israeli-U.S.” to describe war crimes in Gaza because the Biden administration’s ongoing provision of money and weapons to the Israeli government, despite President Biden’s violated red lines, makes the U.S. intentionally complicit in the ongoing slaughter of Palestinians.]
“CAIR-San Diego expresses profound disappointment and condemnation of the recent decision to withhold graduation from students who participated in the encampment. This decision not only undermines the fundamental principles of free speech and the right to peaceful assembly but also sends a troubling message about the school’s stance on civic engagement and student activism,” said CAIR-SD Executive Director Tazheen Nizam. “The decision to punish students for exercising their constitutional rights to free speech and peaceful protest is a blatant violation of their fundamental freedoms. Schools should be a place where diverse ideas and voices are encouraged and respected. By penalizing students for their activism, the administration is stifling the very democratic values that educational institutions are meant to uphold. We demand that these students be allowed to graduate with their peers without any condition.”
Gathered organizations called on UCSD to release the hold on these students’ accounts and allow them to graduate with their peers.
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