- About 500 students walked out of Stanford’s graduation ceremony on Sunday
- The students were seen wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags.
Stanford University’s graduation ceremony on Sunday was thrown into chaos after students staged a pro-Palestine protest and walked out.
About five hundred students, some wearing keffiyehs and Palestinian flags, left the stadium during the president’s speech. the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
“This morning we want to celebrate your achievements despite the conflictive atmosphere,” President Richard Saller told students moments before the mass walkout.
The school has been mired in controversy when students publicly demonstrated against the war between Israel and Hamas and called on the university to ditch its ties to Israel.
A pro-Palestinian camp remained on campus for more than 100 days, and thirteen students were eventually arrested during its dismantling.
About 500 students walked out of Stanford’s graduation ceremony on Sunday
Images of the ceremony posted on social media show students in caps and gowns walking from their seats, away from the speaker’s stage and toward the back of the stadium.
One student was seen holding a sign that read “Free Palestine.” Divest from Stanford!’
Some in the stands cheered the students as they left the event, while other students remained seated.
The strike was reportedly organized by the activist group Stanford Against Apartheid in Palestine.
“We invite graduates, friends and family to leave the graduation ceremony for our alternative ceremony next to the stadium, to show support for divestment and honor Palestine this graduation weekend,” the group posted on its Instagram account .
“The ceremony will include a poetic foundation, speeches by teachers and students and a cap toss,” the publication adds.
The students were seen wearing keffiyehs and waving Palestinian flags.
Last month, an unidentified pro-Palestinian individual on the Stanford campus was photographed wearing the same green headband sported by Hamas terrorist fighters in Gaza.
The group organized the alternative ‘People’s Graduation’ ceremony on a campus field, the Chronicle reported.
Security at Stanford’s official graduation increased compared to previous years, the outlet reported.
All adults were required to present photo identification and a transparent baggage policy was in place.
Only eligible graduates were able to apply for tickets to the event after months of protests led organizers to be more cautious.
The Stanford protests attracted negative headlines when a photograph was shown of someone at their camp wearing the same green headband sported by Hamas terrorist fighters in Gaza.
The incident, which occurred last month, was reported to the FBI, the university said at the time.
“We have received many expressions of concern about a photograph circulating on social media of an individual in White Square who appeared to be wearing a green headband similar to those worn by Hamas members,” Stanford said in a statement last month.
‘We find this deeply disturbing, as the United States government designates Hamas as a terrorist organization.
“We have not been able to identify the individual, but have sent the photo to the FBI,” the statement said.