A statue of the University of Southern California's mascot Tommy Trojan has been spray-painted with the words "say no to genocide" as on-campus tensions persist in the wake of the college's decision to cancel its main commencement ceremony.
On Wednesday, more than 90 people were arrested at a pro-Palestinian event held at Alumni Park — a green at the heart of the USC campus.
The graffiti incident appears to have occurred during a second protest held after the initial arrests. Much like Columbia University, in New York, members of the public are now barred from campus and the school's gates are locked.
"There's a level of frustration for us because it's inconvenient to have the campus closed, and not be able to get to certain places," one student told KABC. "I think a lot of the students are disappointed in their response because the protest was intentionally peaceful."
The university condemned the vandalism and criticized the student activists in a statement issued by USC Senior Vice President of Communications Oel Curran.
"Earlier Saturday, campus property — including the Tommy Trojan statue and a fountain in Alumni Park — was vandalized by individuals who are part of the group that has continued to illegally camp on our campus," said Curran, according to KABC.
"Despite repeated warnings, this group has also continued to disrupt our campus operations and harass students and others, in violation of numerous university policies. While the university fully supports freedom of expression, these acts of vandalism and harassment are absolutely unacceptable and will not be tolerated," he added.
Even before college students across the country began constructing pro-Palestinian solidarity encampments, the USC campus was already in the midst of a contentious debate about Israel's war in Gaza.
Earlier this month, the college announced that the Muslim valedictorian Asna Tabassum would not be allowed to give the traditional commencement speech, citing "safety concerns."
Tabassum was selected from more than 200 soon-to-be-graduates with eligible GPAs. She majored in biomedical engineering and earned an interdisciplinary minor in resistance to genocide.
The USC student group Trojans for Israel criticized the university's decision to select Tabassum. The students alleged that she "propagates antisemitic and anti-Zionist rhetoric," citing a link on her social media page that leads to a website describing Zionism as a "racist settler-colonial ideology."
The university told Tabassum that in the aftermath of the online criticism, they could not guarantee her safety. Tabassum and the Council on Islamic American Relations both criticized the decision.
After initially canceling Tabassum's speech, the university canceled the main graduation ceremony altogether — though students will still have their degrees conferred in smaller events.
"It doesn't feel as if the university is supporting its students, its freedom of speech," a USC alumna told KABC. "I think we've seen that with the valedictorian and I think we're seeing it now with the protests."
