Bay Area-native USC student describes missing out on both high school, college graduation ceremonies

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — In Southern California, USC canceled its main graduation ceremony because of the ongoing protests and safety concerns.

Ninety protesters were arrested on campus Wednesday night during clashes with police. USC previously canceled a graduation speech by a Pro-Palestinian valedictorian.

Many members of this graduating class have already missed out on a high school graduation ceremony, during the first months of the pandemic.

MORE: Pro-Palestinian protests continue at Bay Area universities

That includes Pleasanton-native Meera Popli, whose parents have been planning her college graduation celebration for months.

“It’s a culmination of our 4 years at USC and to have it pulled away I think it’s a mistake on USC’s part,” Popli said. “It’s disheartening, And I would’ve liked to see USC protect their students and protect their voices more.”

“She was class of 2020 and with 2020 being the COVID year she didn’t get a high school graduation, so the first thought was oh my god not again,” Meera’s mom Shagun Popli said.

MORE: College protests live updates: More protests, encampments pop up at Princeton, Northwestern and more

“Tickets have been bought, you know we have people coming from all over the country to Southern California,” Meera’s dad Sunil Popli said. “If they cancel it, it’s gonna end up costing us thousands of dollars on top of the tuition.”

USC officials cited the safety of 65,000 attendees for the cancellation of the campus-wide commencement.

Smaller ceremonies for individual schools and colleges will still be held.

If you’re on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live