Latest news with #Pro-Palestinian
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What This Year's Graduation Ceremonies Can Tell Us About the Future of the Ivy League
Above: Harvard president Alan Garber at the university's commencement. College graduations are always occasions for mixed emotions: excitement and anxiety, sadness and joy. For the graduates of elite universities, however, the dominant mood this year might be relief. The Class of 2025 has not had an easy time of it. They graduated from high school during the first full year of COVID, and when many of them started college, they were still social distancing in virtual classrooms and residential pods. After that health crisis finally came to an end, it did not take long for a political one to emerge. Pro-Palestinian protests earned the ire of Congress, and the Trump presidency brought massive cuts to federal funding for research and repeated attempts to kick international students out of the country. Add to all this a job market that was starting to look a little wobbly under the pressure of AI and the possibility of a tariff-driven recession. Pity the person who had to figure out what to say to the beleaguered Class of 2025. Columbia University's acting president, Clare Shipman, barely got the chance. Boos drowned her out the moment she was introduced to address undergraduates during a cold and rainy Class Day last week. The sun was shining the next day for the university-wide commencement, but the mood was just as dark. Greeted once again with boos, Shipman struggled to get the audience's attention, let alone its sympathy. Columbia's administration lost support among many students when it broke up the pro-Palestinian encampment and invited police on campus to arrest protestors. During one of Shipman's speeches, a few students shouted, 'You arrested us!' The administration lost even more students' trust after agreeing to demands the Trump Administration placed on the university. On both days, the crowd broke out in chants of 'Free Mahmoud!', a reference to the Columbia graduate student and U.S. permanent resident Mahmoud Kahlil, who was detained by ICE. After two days of jeers, Shipman might have wished Columbia had canceled graduation ceremonies like it did last year. Christopher Eisgruber, the president of Princeton University, used the occasion of graduation to make a defense of the American research university, which was something of a sequel to an essay he published in The Atlantic in March. That piece traced the history of the postwar research partnership between higher education and the federal government and called out the need to stand up to the threat the Trump Administration posed to all the good that had come from it. Lacing in references to Alexis de Tocqueville and Socrates, Eisgruber returned to the themes of his essay in a brief speech that was a display of erudition and clarity, even if it was lacking in the inspiration that the graduates might have been looking for on their day. It's well and good to tell students to leave Princeton with 'a fierce independence of mind,' but ferocity and independence were likely little comfort to an audience of twenty-two-year-olds facing rescinded offers to grad school and the increasingly dimmer job prospects. The job market casts a shadow over every graduation ceremony ever, but after four years of economic growth and record unemployment, that shadow was longer than most students likely expected a year ago, even students in the Ivy League. A recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that in dozens of fields a majority of recent college graduates aged 22 to 27 were unemployed or underemployed, which they define as 'a college graduate working in a job that typically does not require a college degree.' The fields with the worst combined outcomes are likely not surprises, but it's notable that computer engineers have the third highest unemployment rate among recent graduates. Things will likely work out for most of the Class of 2025 at Harvard College, where more than half the graduates are going on to jobs in finance, technology, or consulting. After months of turmoil, Harvard managed to hold a graduation ceremony this week that was largely free of disturbance. Several speakers responded with defiance to the Trump administration's efforts to ban Harvard from enrolling international students. Harvard Kennedy School student Yurong 'Luanna' Jiang cautioned her classmates, 'We're starting to believe that people who think differently, vote differently, or pray differently—whether they're across the ocean or sitting right next to us—are not just wrong. But it doesn't have to be this way.' Hundreds of graduating seniors wore white flowers as a sign of support for international students, and Harvard's president, Alan Garber, welcomed the audience 'from down the street, across the country, and around the world.' In case anyone missed it, he repeated himself, 'Around the world. Just as it should be.' In stark contrast to Shipman's reception at Columbia, Garber was given a hero's welcome with a minute long standing ovation from an audience grateful that Harvard had taken a leading role in resisting the Trump administration's attack on higher education. At the same time, it was hard not to wonder how many students felt that politics were overshadowing their college experience to the very last minute. It would have been hard not to feel the presence of the Trump Administration at these Ivy League graduations, but at least one speaker made sure to keep the focus on students and what they were feeling that day. Jodi Kantor, whose reporting with Megan Twohey at the New York Times sparked the #MeToo movement, was greeted much more warmly than the president and with good reason. Her speech displayed the empathy and sharpness that has clearly served the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist well. She acknowledged that many in the audience felt that 'the story of [their] education had been one crisis after another' and recognized the anxiety some had suffered over four of the toughest years higher education has seen since the Vietnam War. Those crises will keep on coming, but that is not what Kantor wanted to dwell on. Instead, she left them with some good advice, advice that every parent fretting about where their kid will go to school might well heed themselves: 'Let's drop the assumption that your experience in college will dictate what becomes of you afterward.' You Might Also Like 12 Weekend Getaway Spas For Every Type of Occasion 13 Beauty Tools to Up Your At-Home Facial Game
UPI
2 days ago
- Politics
- UPI
Judge rules effort to deport Mahmoud Khalil likely 'unconstitutional'
Pro-Palestinian protesters hold flags and signs at the Release Mahmoud Khaul, Hands Off Our Students, ICE off Our Campus rally in Manhattan in March. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo May 29 (UPI) -- A federal judge in New Jersey ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration's efforts to deport Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil are most likely unconstitutional but did not set him free from custody. U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz wrote that Khalil, who was arrested in March by Immigration and Customs Enforcement with the intention of eventual deportation, was likely to win his case "on his vagueness challenge related to the Secretary of State's determination." Khalil's legal team argued on his behalf that the reasons to detain him violated the 14th Amendment's Due Process Clause, due to unconstitutional vagueness. According to Farbiarz's ruling, vagueness doctrine requires a law be clear enough that people understand the consequence should it be broken, and to block the use of laws that are so broad they bend the separation of governmental powers. In his conclusion, Farbiarz wrote that Khalil is "likely to succeed on the merits of his claim that Section 1227 is unconstitutional as applied to him," with Section 1227 being federal code for what makes a person a "deportable alien." Khalil has been detained for deportation based on allegations that his application for lawful permanent residence was inaccurate, and because U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined that Khalil being in the United States compromises "a compelling U.S. foreign policy interest." However, the judge also determined that Khalil "is not likely to succeed" in his case in regard to his purported failure to complete his lawful permanent resident application correctly. Federal officials allege that although Khalil did apply federally to become a lawful permanent resident, he didn't answer certain questions accurately, which can allow the federal government to remove an individual as per laws that pertain to "inadmissible aliens." Khalil remains in custody as the judge considers whether his assertion that his detention has caused him "irreparable harm," and has requested his legal team provide additional evidence of such before he considers his release. ICE arrested Khalil, a Palestinian refugee raised in Syria and former Columbia University graduate student, in March for having allegedly "led activities aligned to Hamas," in relation to his on-campus pro-Palestinian activism. He was the lead student negotiator of an encampment on the campus in 2024 when Columbia was the center of nationwide student protests held against Israel's war in Gaza.
Middle East Eye
2 days ago
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Opinion: Why the UK refuses to do the one thing that could stop Israel's 'intolerable' war on Gaza
What Israel is doing in Gaza is 'morally wrong and unjustifiable', its actions 'intolerable' and 'an affront to the values of the British people'. These are not the words of a pro-Palestine activist, but of the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, who has now suspended negotiations on a new free trade agreement and vowed to review co-operation on the 2030 bilateral road map. But the UK government still won't take the single fastest and most effective step: ending military cooperation with Israel and halting all arms sales. Lammy said in parliament that 'arms are not getting to Israel that could be used in Gaza'. This is false. The UK government last year suspended a small number of arms export licences - around 10 percent - after determining that Israel is not committed to complying with international humanitarian law, but it allowed UK participation in the F-35 fighter jet programme to continue. In addition, new data from both Israel and the UK raises concerns about the scale and end use of UK-supplied weaponry. A protester holds a placard reading "No genocide, no war, Kier Starmer's got to go" as he takes part in a Pro-Palestinian march in central London, on 15 March, 2025 (AFP)
Kuwait Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Kuwait Times
Paris fountain flows red to slam Gaza bloodbath
PARIS: Pro-Palestinian activists hold a Palestinian flag and placards reading 'Gaza: Emmanuel Macron must act', 'Gaza: Ceasefire' and 'Gaza: Stop the bloodshed' after pouring red paint into the Fontaine des Innocents during a demonstration on May 28, 2025. - AFP PARIS: French activists dyed a Paris fountain red Wednesday to symbolize what they called the 'bloodbath' of Palestinians in Gaza. Activists from Oxfam and Amnesty International poured dye into the Fontaine des Innocents in the heart of the French capital, while others held placards saying 'Cease fire' and 'Gaza: stop the bloodbath'. 'This operation aims to denounce France's slow response to an absolute humanitarian emergency facing the people of Gaza today,' the activists, which included the French branch of Greenpeace, said in a joint statement. 'France cannot limit itself to mere verbal condemnations,' said former minister Cecile Duflot, executive director of Oxfam France. Clemence Lagouardat, who helped coordinate Oxfam's humanitarian response in Gaza, denounced the Zionist blockade of the besieged territory. 'The people in Gaza need everything, it's a matter of survival,' she told AFP. The Zionist offensive has killed at least 53,977 people in Gaza, mostly civilians. Continued of Page 6 Israel has now stepped up a renewed campaign to destroy Hamas, drawing international condemnation as aid trickles in following a blockade since early March that has sparked severe food and medical shortages. 'There is a genocide going on and political inaction is becoming a kind of complicity in this genocide,' said Jean-Francois Julliard, head of Greenpeace France. 'We call on (President) Emmanuel Macron to act with courage, clarity and determination to put an end to this bloodshed.' The activists urged states 'with influence over (the Zionist entity)' to press for an immediate and lasting ceasefire, an arms embargo on the Zionist entity, the revision of a cooperation agreement between the EU and the Zionist entity and other measures. Macron has accused Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of 'unacceptable' and 'shameful' behavior in blocking aid to the Palestinians in Gaza. – AFP
The Independent
3 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Blood-red water pours down Paris fountain in pro-Palestine protest
Showing now | News 01:38 Pro-Palestinian protesters dyed water in a Paris fountain blood-red to 'denounce the ongoing massacres in Gaza'. Greenpeace France, Oxfam France and other NGOs poured several litres of red food colouring in the Fountain of the Innocents on Wednesday (28 May). Standing in and around the fountain, demonstrators can be seen holding banners reading: 'GAZA: STOP THE BLOODBATH', 'MACRON MUST (FINALLY) ACT' and 'CEASEFIRE'. In a statement, Greenpeace France said: 'This operation aims to denounce France's slow response to the dire humanitarian emergency facing the people of Gaza today.' In a joint statement, France, the UK, and Canada's leaders said they 'strongly oppose the expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza. 'The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable.' 03:25 10:44 07:06 07:42 08:21 17:10 06:38 09:22 08:02 06:42 05:23 07:08 05:03 09:53 07:25 09:32 05:23 05:35 09:47 06:28 06:23 07:35 04:24 08:29 08:03 11:54 08:21 06:38 07:25 04:31 07:30 03:34 02:03 03:22 02:15 02:22 02:21 01:43 01:42 01:45 10:44 03:44 07:42 09:22 06:11 07:50 06:21 02:19 03:51 04:18 06:26 04:30 03:35 03:45 07:34 08:19 10:42 06:27 07:23 06:35 More Behind The Headlines 12:18 11:50 09:03 13:07 00:57 00:34 01:57 04:37 00:55 00:54 00:21 00:16 00:49 00:33 01:00 00:31 00:54 01:08 01:35 00:47 00:32 00:18 00:59 00:51 00:51 00:42 00:21 07:54 00:56 00:56 00:29 01:22 00:33 00:21 00:21 00:57 03:29 03:07 03:07 03:24 01:36 00:42 01:26 00:32 00:31 02:00 00:40 00:58 04:23 04:26 01:01 01:07 15:55 16:33 16:06 15:01 15:16 01:16 00:36 00:48 01:08 More Saudi Green Initiative 01:12 01:23 01:24 Live
