Class of 2024 reflects on college years marked by COVID-19, protests and life's lost milestones

LOS ANGELES (AP) — On a recent afternoon, Grant Oh zigzagged across the University of Southern California campus as if he was conquering an obstacle course, coming up against police blockade after police blockade on his way to his apartment while officers arrested demonstrators protesting the Israel-Hamas war.

In many ways, the chaotic moment was the culmination of a college life that started amid the coronavirus pandemic and has been marked by continual upheaval in what has become a constant battle for normalcy. Oh already missed his prom and his high school graduation as COVID-19 surged in 2020. He started college with online classes. Now the 20-year-old will add another missed milestone to his life: USC has canceled its main commencement ceremony that was expected to be attended by 65,000 people.

His only graduation ceremony was in middle school and there were no caps and gowns.

“It’s crazy because I remember starting freshman year with the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which came after senior year of high school when the Black Lives Matter protests were happening and COVID, and xenophobia,” he said “It feels definitely surreal. It still shocks me that we live in a world that is so fired up and so willing to tear itself apart.”

Oh, who is getting a degree in health promotion and disease prevention, added that his loss of a memorable moment pales in comparison to what is happening: “At the end of the day, people are dying.”

College campuses have always been a hotbed for protests from the civil rights era to the Vietnam war to demonstrations over apartheid in South Africa. But students today also carry additional stresses from having lived through the isolation and fear from the pandemic, and the daily influence of social media that amplifies the world’s wrongs like never before, experts say.

It’s not just about missed milestones. Study after study shows Generation Z suffers from much higher rates of anxiety and depression than Millennials, said Jean Twenge, a psychologist and professor at San Diego State University, who wrote a book called “Generations.” She attributes much of that to the fact that negativity spreads faster and wider on social media than positive posts.

“Gen Z, they tend to be much more pessimistic than Millennials," she said. "The question going forward is do they take this pessimism and turn it into concrete action and change, or do they turn it into annihilation and chaos?”

Protesters have pitched tents on campuses from Harvard and MIT to Stanford and the University of Texas, Austin, raising tensions as many schools prepare for spring commencements. Hundreds of students have been arrested across the country. Inspired by demonstrations at Columbia University, students at more than a dozen U.S. colleges have formed pro-Palestinian encampments and pledged to stay put until their demands are met.

The campus will be closed for the semester at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, which has been negotiating with students who have been barricaded inside a campus building since Monday, rebuffing an attempt by the police to clear them out.

USC announced Thursday that it would be calling off its main graduation ceremony after protests erupted over not only the Israel-Hamas war but the school's decision earlier this month to call off the commencement speech by its valedictorian Asna Tabassum, who expressed support for Palestinians. Officials cited security concerns.

“By trying to silence Asna, it made everything way worse,” Oh said, adding that he hopes there will be no violence on graduation day May 10 when smaller ceremonies will be held by different departments.

Maurielle McGarvey graduated from high school in 2019 so was able to have a ceremony but then she took a gap year when many universities held classes only online. McGarvey, who is getting a degree in screenwriting with a minor in gender and social justice studies at USC, called the cancellations “heartbreaking,” and said the situation has been grossly mishandled by the university. She said police with batons came at her yelling as she held a banner while she and fellow demonstrators said a Jewish prayer.

“It's definitely been like an overall diminished experience and to take away like the last sort of like typical thing that this class was allowed after having so many weird restrictions, so many customs and traditions changed,” she said. “It’s such a bummer.”

She said the email by the university announcing the cancellation particularly stung with its link to photos of past graduates in gowns tossing up their caps and cheering. “That's just insult to injury," she said.

Students at other universities were equally glum.

“Our grade is cursed,” said Abbie Barkan of Atlanta, 21, who is graduating from the University of Texas in two weeks with a journalism degree and who was among a group of Jewish students waving flags and chanting at a counter-protest Thursday near a pro-Palestinian demonstration on campus.

University of Minnesota senior Sarah Dawley, who participated in pro-Palestinian protests, is grateful graduation plans have not changed at her school. But she said the past weeks have left her with a mix of emotions. She's been dismayed to watch colleges call in police.

But she said she also feels hope after having gone through the pandemic and become part of a community that stands up for what they believe in.

“I think a lot of people are going to go on to do cool things because after all this, we care a lot,” she said.

Watson reported from San Diego. AP journalists Stefanie Dazio and Eugene Garcia in Los Angeles, Mark Vancleave in Minneapolis, Jim Vertuno and Acacia Coronado in Austin, Texas, and Rodrique Ngowi in Boston contributed to this report.

A graduating senior takes photos under the University of Southern California mascot on campus, Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Los Angeles. The school has canceled its main graduation ceremony as protests against the Israel-Hamas war continued to intensify. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Graduating seniors take photos around the Tommy Trojan statue on the University of Southern California campus in Los Angeles, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The university canceled its main graduation ceremony Thursday and dozens more college students were arrested at other campuses nationwide as protests against the Israel-Hamas war continued to spread. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A display shows commencement-related information on the University of Southern California campus in Los Angeles, Thursday, April 25, 2024. The university canceled its main graduation ceremony Thursday and dozens more college students were arrested at other campuses nationwide as protests against the Israel-Hamas war continued to spread. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Pro-Israeli demonstrators gather near a Pro-Palestinian encampment on the UCLA campus Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A recent graduate wears a garment with their graduation year on the University of Southern California campus Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Los Angeles. The University of Southern California canceled its main graduation ceremony Thursday. College officials across the U.S. are worried the ongoing Israel-Hamas war protests could disrupt plans for commencement ceremonies next month. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Police began to clear a pro-Palestinian tent encampment at George Washington University early Wednesday and arrested dozens of protesters, hours after dozens left the site and marched to President Ellen Granberg’s home.

Officials at the university in Washington, D.C., had warned of possible suspensions for students engaging in protest activities on University Yard.

“While the university is committed to protecting students’ rights to free expression, the encampment had evolved into an unlawful activity, with participants in direct violation of multiple university policies and city regulations,” the university said in a statement.

Local media had reported that some protesters were pepper sprayed as police stopped them from entering the encampment and nearly 30 people had been arrested, according to community organizers.

In a statement, the District of Columbia's Metropolitan Police Department said arrests were made for assault on a police officer and unlawful entry, but a number of arrests wasn't immediately given. The department said it moved to disperse demonstrators because “there has been a gradual escalation in the volatility of the protest.”

Tuesday evening, protesters carrying signs that read, “Free Palestine” and “Hands off Rafah,” marched to Granberg’s home. Police were called to maintain the crowd. No arrests were made.

This comes as Mayor Muriel Bowser and MPD Chief Pamela Smith are set to testify about the District of Columbia's handling of the protest at a House Committee on Oversight and Accountability hearing on Wednesday afternoon.

A pro-Palestinian tent encampment was cleared at the University of Chicago on Tuesday after administrators who had initially adopted a permissive approach said the protest had crossed a line and caused growing concerns about safety.

University President Paul Alivisatos acknowledged the school’s role as a protector of freedom of speech after officers in riot gear blocked access to the school's Quad but also took an enough-is-enough stance.

“The university remains a place where dissenting voices have many avenues to express themselves, but we cannot enable an environment where the expression of some dominates and disrupts the healthy functioning of the community for the rest,” Alivisatos wrote in a message to the university community.

Tensions have continued to ratchet up in standoffs with protesters on campuses across the U.S. — and increasingly, in Europe — nearly three weeks into a movement launched by a protest at Columbia University. Some colleges cracked down immediately on protests against the Israel-Hamas war. Among those that have tolerated the tent encampments, some have begun to lose patience and call in police over concerns about disruptions to campus life, safety and the involvement of nonstudents.

Since April 18, just over 2,600 people have been arrested on 50 campuses, figures based on AP reporting and statements from universities and law enforcement agencies.

But not all schools are taking that approach, with some letting protesters hold rallies and organize their encampments as they see fit.

The president of Wesleyan University, a liberal arts school in Connecticut, has commended the on-campus demonstration — which includes a pro-Palestinian tent encampment — as an act of political expression. The camp there has grown from about 20 tents a week ago to more than 100.

“The protesters’ cause is important — bringing attention to the killing of innocent people,” university President Michael Roth wrote to the campus community Thursday. “And we continue to make space for them to do so, as long as that space is not disruptive to campus operations.”

The Rhode Island School of Design, where students started occupying a building Monday, affirms students’ rights to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly and supports all members of the community, a spokesperson said. The school said President Crystal Williams spent more than five hours with the protesters that evening discussing their demands.

On Tuesday the school announced it was relocating classes that were scheduled to take place in the building. It was covered with posters reading “Free Palestine” and “Let Gaza Live,” and dove was drawn in colored chalk on the sidewalk.

Campuses have tried tactics from appeasement to threats of disciplinary action to resolve the protests and clear the way for commencements.

At the University of Chicago, hundreds of protesters gathered for at least eight days until administrators warned them Friday to leave or face removal. On Tuesday, law enforcement dismantled the encampment.

Officers later picked up a barricade erected to keep protesters out of the Quad and moved it toward the demonstrators, some of whom chanted, “Up, up with liberation. Down, down with occupation!” Police and protesters pushed back and forth along the barricade as the officers moved to reestablish control.

Associated Press journalists around the U.S. and world contributed, including Charles Rex Arbogast, Pat Eaton-Robb, Steve LeBlanc, Jeff Amy, Christopher Weber, Mike Corder, Barbara Surk, Rick Callahan, Sarah Brumfield and Pietro de Cristofaro.

Police block pro-Palestinian protesters from returning to their encampment as the encampment is dismantled at the University of Chicago, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Pro-Palestinian protesters chat as police kept them away from the university's quad while the student encampment is dismantled at the University of Chicago, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

A police officer stands guard blocking pro-Palestinian protesters from returning to their encampment as the encampment is dismantled at the University of Chicago, Tuesday, May 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Placards lay on the ground outside an entrance to a building at Rhode Island School of Design that has been partially taken over by students and supporters, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Providence, R.I. The activists are demanding that RISD condemn Israel's war effort in Gaza, and that the school divest from investments that benefit Israel. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Pro-Palestinian protesters push back as University of Chicago police officers reposition a barricade keeping protesters from the university's quad while the student encampment is dismantled Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Activists attach a rolled placard to keffiyeh scarves tied together to form a line as they prepare to hoist the banner through an upper floor window to protesters occupying a portion of the building at Rhode Island School of Design, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Providence, R.I. The activists are demanding that RISD condemn Israel's war effort in Gaza, and that the school divest from investments that benefit Israel. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A small group of University of Southern Mississippi students and activists hold Pro-Palestinian signs protesting the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, during an hour-long silent protest on the school's campus, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Hattiesburg, Miss. The 50 demonstrators drew no counter protesters or hecklers. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

BJ Brumley, left, and fellow University of Southern Mississippi student Vinny Halsey, hold Pro-Palestinian signs protesting the Israel Hamas war in Gaza, during an hour-long silent protest on the school's campus, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Hattiesburg, Miss. The group of almost 50 demonstrators drew no counter protesters or hecklers. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Young Muslim girls take part in a prayer service near the University California, Irvine pro-Palestinian encampment on Monday, May 6, 2024, in Irvine, Calif. (Mindy Schauer/The Orange County Register via AP)

Rhode Island School of Design students and supporters gather near a Palestinian flag, left, outside a building at RISD, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Providence, R.I. Student activists and supporters, who have taken over a portion of the building, are demanding that the school condemn Israel's war effort in Gaza, and that the school divest from investments that benefit Israel. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

An activist wearing a keffiyeh pauses at an entrance to a building at Rhode Island School of Design, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Providence, R.I. Student activists and supporters, who have taken over a portion of the building, are demanding that the school condemn Israel's war effort in Gaza, and that the school divest from investments that benefit Israel. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Pro-Palestinian protesters support the positions held by others as University of Chicago police officers reposition a barricade keeping protesters from the university's quad while the student encampment is dismantled Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Pro-Palestinian protesters lock arms and clasp their hands as a University of Chicago police officer holds onto a barricade while officers kept protesters from the university's quad while the student encampment is dismantled Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

A pro-Palestinian protester leads chants at the university's police as they are kept from the university's quad while the student encampment is dismantled at the University of Chicago, on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

A pro-Palestinian protester rests her head on her clasped hands while she stands before University of Chicago police officers while officers kept protesters from the university's quad while the student encampment is dismantled Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Ramon Nacanaynay of Long Beach, Miss., holds a sign calling for a ceasefire of the Israel Hamas war in Gaza, during an hour-long silent protest on the University of Southern Mississippi campus, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Hattiesburg, Miss. The group of almost 50 demonstrators drew no counter protesters or hecklers. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

An Israeli flag, top, flies Tuesday, May 7, 2024, near an encampment of tents, behind left, on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus, in Cambridge, Mass., set up by MIT students and supporters to protest what they said was the school's failure to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and to cut ties to Israel's military. The Israeli flags were put in place following the establishment of the tent encampment that was built to demand that MIT condemn Israel's war effort in Gaza. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

An activist uses keffiyeh scarves tied together to hoist a banner through an upper floor window of a Rhode Island School of Design building they have partially taken over Tuesday, May 7, 2024, at RISD, in Providence, R.I. The students and supporters are demanding that RISD condemn Israel's war effort in Gaza, and that the school divest from investments that benefit Israel. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A passer-by, right, uses a mobile device to record a barrier with placards at an pro-Palestinian encampment of tents on the campus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Cambridge, Mass. Students at MIT set up the encampment to protest what they said was MIT's failure to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and to cut ties to Israel's military. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A passer-by walks past an entrance to a building at Rhode Island School of Design, Tuesday, May 7, 2024, in Providence, R.I. Student activists and supporters, who have taken over a portion of the building, are demanding that the school condemn Israel's war effort in Gaza, and that the school divest from investments that benefit Israel. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A giant American flag is unfurled on Lisner Hall on the campus of George Washington University in Washington, Friday, May 3, 2024, as demonstrators protest the Israel-Hamas war. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)