Not OT - my daughter graduated from Michigan today!
Congrats to her! She was there during the golden years!
Congrats to her (and to you!) and to all grads.
Congrats! And. That pic is perfect!
Also, the one you probably don’t recognize in the photo is author Brad Meltzer, the commencement speaker. His speech was excellent, and funny, and from the heart - a true blue Wolverine!
Awesome congrats!!!
Congratulations! I’m one year away from my two crossing (oops - not costing as noted in my original comment - though, cost is noticeable too) the stage in cap & gown.
Go Blue!
The Freudian slip is justifiable.
LOL - thanks for catching that - which, I've edited in my original email. Cost and Cross - what a combination - both are noteworthy - though, based on what my children are getting from their Michigan experience - there's a difference - they're loving it - and, to quote my daughter - "Daddy, Michigan's the best effing school in the world."
It was a great day to be celebrating our grads! (Other than the very disrespectful group of students who chanted throughout and ruined the ceremony for the students who were seated in their vicinity)
It's a tricky thing, knowing how to effectively make ones voice heard. I am glad that they and many others are VOICING their anger instead of acting out on it, and that I live in a country in which it is still our right to do so, peacefully.
There is a time, place and manner for these things. Yesterday morning in the Big House wasn't it.
Tell me what you disagree with in my statement? I agree with the first part of yours. The latter is subjective, though many others share your opinion. Keep in mind that when people's voices are stifled, they sometimes find other outlets for their anger, and that change is rarely convenient.
Because the people disrupting the commencement were not just VOICING their anger, but also ACTING out on it.
Lastly, if some people feel their voices are stifled, it does NOT give them any special rights and privileges to break any other rules/laws.
I have honestly not heard of any hostile actions, please elaborate.
I never suggested that anyone has the right to behave in a manner that violated rules or laws, only that it has proven to be the case. I despise violence and lawlessness. Not sure why you created a straw man. Trying to give you the benefit of the doubt here, but it is becoming difficult.
See Team 101's response below. Disrupting the commencement (for any reason) was prohibited.
Team 101’s statement without a reference required only a 1 minute google search to find out it’s false. The statement below completely refutes just about all the comments started by 1989’s post and responses.
According to UMs statement quoted in full at the end of my post, “commencement ceremonies have been source of free expression and peaceful protest for decades and will likely to continue to be”.
The student’s protest also, according to multiple sources, was “brief” and peaceful, they sat back down, and they were not escorted out by staffers.
Campus safety and demonstrations
Every year, hundreds of university faculty and staff work hard to make commencement a wonderful experience for graduates and their families.
Commencement ceremonies have been the site of free expression and peaceful protest for decades and will likely continue to be. The University of Michigan does not attempt to prevent peaceful protests or other speech protected under the First Amendment. Many ceremonies will have a designated area for protests outside the venue.
Our goal is to limit substantial disruption, ensure safety, and support a successful and celebratory event worthy of the achievements of our extraordinary graduates.
Commencement for schools, colleges, departments, and cultural celebrations will include:
- Security screening
- Required ticket or registration at the vast majority of events
- Prohibition of banners, flags and anything that obstructs sightlines
- Staffers who will respond to disruptions, beginning with warnings and requests to respect the importance of the celebrations for our graduates and their families
Please remember: U-M is committed to free speech and freedom of expression. Deans and directors will generally be patient with lawful disruptions. If protests significantly impede the program, leadership will take steps to de-escalate and address the interruption.
Um…your post pretty much aligns with Team101’s post. Your post clearly states that disruptions are prohibited, including banners and flags.
That’s not true. The policy says the university “supports peaceful protest” and “goal is to limit substantial disruption”. The statement repeatedly talks about supporting the right to free speech and protests. Team 101 said the “disruption” is “prohibited” which is a gross overstatement. The only thing explicitly prohibited in the statement are banners that block sight lines.
The official statement also says that the university will take action if they feel the protests are too much of a disruption. It’s not Team 101s decision to decide if the protests were a “substantial disruption”. And the university did not take further action. The protesters sat down. Apparently they were still noisy, but it was the university’s decision that the protests were within their guidelines.
How many were UofM students and how many were paid protesters?
Everything I’ve read says that universities are strictly screening those that enter these graduations so you can be assured there are no outside protesters, and certainly no paid protesters.
Actually the latter was not subjective. The disruptive activity was prohibited. The rules were made know to the people attending the ceremony. The University has power to make these rules and the first amendment does not permit the rule to be breached. The class of 24 was entitled to have the same experience that I had the same weekend 40 years before.
At issue here, I think, is not about whether they have the legal right or not to protest (they do) but whether it makes sense to act during a graduation. There can be a point at which protesting can be counterproductive. Their beef, ostensibly, is with the U-M Regents, not the public at large, but by disrupting a graduation ceremony they may have ended up annoying a lot of other people - people whom they may have hoped would back their cause.
Also happened on Friday during the grad ceremony for School of Music, Theatre & Dance.
I was attending the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance commencement Friday when a pro-Palestinian protest broke out.
The protest lasted a few minutes before police arrived and the protestors left. pic.twitter.com/OuTCdthfUq— Thad Green (@thadgreen) May 3, 2024
Many of the spectators began to chant “U.S.A.” before the protestors exited the auditorium. pic.twitter.com/kB7edntiFw
— Thad Green (@thadgreen) May 3, 2024
Why the hell were some chanting "U.S.A"??? Just emphasizes the need for awareness and education on the topic.
I guess its just people VOICING their anger at those protestors. It should be OK with you, right?
Keep in mind that when people's voices are stifled, they sometimes find other outlets for their anger, and that change is rarely convenient.
You're response, while you do indeed have every right to it, is willfully ignorant. I'm not suggesting they can't use their voices, just wondering what they are trying to promote. Instead of being reactionary, maybe try to explain it.
OK, I'll explain what I think it means. By chanting "USA, USA, USA", they are supporting the the protestors right to protest at the commencement, right?
By chanting "USA, USA, USA" they are using their voice to signify that USA is such an awesome place, that they are underscoring their the right to protest, which is right not available in the vast majority of the world.
This should be the case, that chanting USA is support for the right to free speech and the right to protest and not opposition. So many countries with billions of citizens, around the world don’t allow that and protestors are jailed and murdered.
But when watching the video at the theater school they seemed angry about the protests. So chanting USA was very odd. It could have been either support or against but it’s hard to tell for sure. It is a theatre school. And I understand that we don’t want our kids graduations to be ruined. But chanting USA, seamingly in opposition to signs that say end UM’s funding of genocide would be strange.
God forbid somone chants USA
In the country of...checks notes...USA! The horror!
I find it disrespectful to weaponize that in that particular manner. Probably from people that will disrespect the flag by making it black/white on their apparel. There's a big difference between loving your country and using your country to try and divide Americans in a hostile manner.
I find it disrespectful to cause a scene at a graduation ceremony celebrating young people who have worked their tail off in an arrogant political display which is clearly dividing Americans, your hypotheticals reveal your bias.
I doubt that too many students were upset by the display. Four years at Michigan showed me that these type of things are necessary from time to time. I was there during the Michigawa sit-in at the Union, numerous protests in the Diag, and once when an acquaintance was arrested for inciting a riot while protesting during a KKK rally on campus. If you are/were a student at Michigan, this is the norm. I choose to remember the good that was done in my four years on campus and hardly ever think of the one day that marked the end of my time there. Their actions, whether you agree with them or not, achieved their goal of being heard.
Aught One, were you there? Do you know what did - or didn't - happen? Have you spoken to any of the students?
I can tell you that many students were upset about having their graduation ceremony disrupted for two straight hours by a group of 75 protesters chanting non-stop. It made it very difficult to hear what the speakers were saying...as well as to enjoy what should have been a joyous occasion.
Doing a sit-in at the Union or protesting at the Diag is very different from 75 protesters disrupting a joyous ceremony and degrading the experience for tens of thousands of students, family members, and friends.
1989 Grad,
Are you invested in a side of this protest?
Because your statement about a 2 hour interruption appears to a complete fabrication by someone.
All reports are that it was a “brief interruption”. Videos show a fairly respectable protest by students of many cultures, taking place mostly during the speech by the Secretary of the Navy who actually added to his speech that those ROTC grads will protecting the right to free speech that we have in america. Even he supported the protest. How you can say it was a 2 hour interruption vs the brief interruption I’ve read and heard about is troubling.
Reports also say that they sat back down after the Secretary of the navy speech when it was time for other speakers to speak.
It was not a brief interruption. They chanted throughout the entire ceremony. Not sure where you are getting your reports but I was there sitting in the end zone where the group of protesters was located. They never stopped chanting. They never sat down. It was very disruptive and disrespectful.
It could be that you were sitting next to them and that the media that wrote what I read was sitting somewhere elsewhere in the stadium. It does appear that they met the standard of “disruption” as defined by Michigan otherwise something would’ve been done about it.
Nope, BoFan. That's not the case.
We had friends sitting in all areas throughout the stadium. Everyone was aware of their presence and heard their non-stop chanting.
That’s not what was reported by others.
BoFan, I'd be interested to know who these "others" are from whom you are getting your "reporting."
The chanting started just after the ceremony began and continued throughout the entire ceremony...even up to and including when they played The Victors at the end.
I was sitting in row 70 of the end zone in which they were located. I could hear them throughout the entire ceremony and could see them waving their flags and other items. It never, ever, ever stopped or ceased.
Just after the ceremony began, the protesters stood up in their seats and then gathered together in the back of the middle aisle of where the students were seated. Once they were together in a group, they started moving forward toward the stage...chanting and waving flags as they were walking forward. They were met by law enforcement about halfway up toward the stage. They stayed in that location for a bit (chanting and waving flags, thus disrupting the ceremony for the roughly half of the students who were next to or behind them), until law enforcement moved them toward the back of where the students were seated. They remained in that location (the end zone) throughout the remainder of the ceremony, chanting and waving flags.
Many students who were next to or just in front of them moved, as the chanting and flag waving made it impossible for these students to hear the speakers or enjoy the ceremony.
I would be happy to talk to the "others" from whom you are getting your "reporting" to discuss this with them. I'd be interested to know where they were sitting that they were unable to hear or see what the group of 50-75 protesters clustered together was doing.
Roughly 5/5 media reports I read back when “you” first kicked off this side thread by being the agitator to add this mention of the protests to what was originally a celebratory thread started by the OP.
Below is the first article that came up when I searched this time. the article states that some people didn’t like the disruption and some liked it. It doesn’t state how brief it was. They also added the official statement from the university that the ceremony was a success, went exactly as it should have, and our university completely supports what happened.
The mood was joyous and the ceremony unfolded successfully and was completed without interruption. Approximately 75 protesters staged a small demonstration at the beginning of the program, walking up the main aisle and chanting, before public safety personnel escorted them to the rear of the stadium, where they remained through the conclusion of the event. There were no arrests. Peaceful protests like this have taken place at U-M commencement ceremonies for decades. The university supports free speech and expression, and university leaders are pleased that today’s commencement was such a proud and triumphant moment, worthy of the achievements of our extraordinary graduates.
What else do you think the university is going to say?
I was there. They never stopped chanting. Not for one minute. They chanted and waved their flags and banners non-stop for two hours.
I guess you could argue that it was technically "peaceful," as there was no violence.
You weren't there. You can keep believing what you want to believe, but the facts are the facts. Talk to anyone else who was there and they will tell you that the protesters never stopped chanting or waving their flags and banners.
I was there, row 8 sec 9. Right corner of the end zone. And outside of a brief period where the Sec of the Navy paused his speech because of the protesters (and counter protestors which cause a short escalation in the total noise being generated), I did not have any trouble hearing the rest of the ceremony despite the fact that the protesters were chanting for the entire ceremony. It just wasn’t very loud and the flags blocked mostly other protesters since they were in the middle and back. There was a small group of students that moved from their middle isle seats to stand at the side. That was about all the disruption that I saw. My Nephew, the grad, was also not upset at all. He was in the back left of the field seats. Just 2 more personal accounts, nothing more or less. I felt the whole thing was handled pretty effectively from the speakers to the cops to the protesters to the other students.
Better than an SEC chant breaking out. Thats when you know things have really gone off the rails.
Some believe there is a very strong anti-USA sentiment within the anti-Semitic BDS movement.
I appreciate your genuine response. It also supports my point that there is a serious lack of understanding around this issue and it's complexities.
….On both sides.
They were not peaceful.
They were disruptive throughout almost the entire ceremony.
They have taken over the entirety of The Diag and defaced the "M," making it impossible for grads and their loved ones to visit The Diag and take a picture with the "M."
Also the Michigan Union sign was vandalized. Really sad behavior and doesn't help their cause.
I feel sorry for those who graduated during covid and those whose experience was marred by yesterday's protesters. Congratulations to those who did graduate and the parents who have fewer bills to pay now : ).
I agree that vandalizing is not a form of peaceful protest and hurts the message. There is a line between "good trouble" and just being a trouble maker.