Pro-Palestine students stage walkout at Stanford University ceremony
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The walkout comes after months of student demonstrations, including two encampments and a brief takeover of the university president's office.
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Stanford University Students walk out of the stadium in support of Palestine as President Richard Saller gives his speech at the university's official commencement on June 16, 2024, in California. (Social media)
Around 500 pro-Palestine students stormed out of Stanford University's graduating ceremony protesting "Israel's" continued slaughter in the Gaza Strip, which has killed 37,372 martyrs and injured 85,452 Palestinians.
Students wore Kouffiyehs and waved Palestinian flags as they walked out of Stanford President Richard Saller's speech during the university's formal graduating ceremony on Sunday.
A student was spotted with a placard that said, "Free Palestine. Stanford divest!"
The walkout on Sunday came after months of student demonstrations, including two encampments and a brief takeover of the University president's office. Students are demanding the institution divest from firms that sponsor "Israel".
On Sunday, an activist group called Stanford Against Apartheid in Palestine advertised the walkout on Instagram, encouraging students to participate in a "People's Commencement".
It asked graduates, friends, and family "to walk out of the commencement into our alternative ceremony next to the stadium, to show support for divestment and honor Palestine this graduation weekend."
The pro-Palestine encampment lasted over 100 days on campus, and more than a dozen students were jailed during its dispersal on June 5 when pro-Palestine students temporarily took over the president's office.
Some students were immediately suspended from the institution, which has ties to Israeli lobbies and tens of millions of money at its disposal to deliberately silence pro-Palestine views.
Pro-Palestine US campus protests undeterred by summer break
Despite classes coming to a halt at many universities and colleges throughout the US due to the beginning of the summer, the student antiwar movement is showing no signs of slowing down. Activists across the country, from California to New York, continue to demand that their institutions divest from Israeli companies involved in the war on Gaza.
Alumni at Columbia University have even set up new encampments after previous ones were dismantled by the administration after a spring that at many institutions where protests were held led to arrests, violent counterprotests, and threats of suspension.
Frustrated by similar responses at other universities, many students have intensified their efforts even as the academic year ends.
In early June, York University students in Toronto set up their first protest encampment, which police dismantled hours later.
Rallies and marches also took place earlier in June at Wayne State University in Detroit and several University of California campuses, including those in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Irvine.
At Columbia University, alumni set up their tents once again in solidarity with students who initiated the first protest encampment on a US campus in mid-April. The new tents were removed just two days later.
