USC valedictorian barred from graduation speech: ‘The university has betrayed me’
LOS ANGELES — When Asna Tabassum learned that the University of Southern California had barred her from speaking at next month’s graduation, she hadn’t yet planned what she would say in her remarks, beyond that she would convey a message of hope.
University leaders who announced the decision Monday, after pro-Israel groups criticized a link on Tabassum’s Instagram page as evidence of her being antisemitic, didn’t know the theme of her speech because she hadn’t shared it with them, the class valedictorian said an interview with the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday.
Tabassum, a biomedical engineering major,
