Members of the Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice planned to support students’ right to protest.
In opposition, however, a group called Stand With Us will hold a “Stand in Support of Jewish Students” rally to “stand up against hatred and antisemitism.”
The nationwide protests have caught the attention of President Joe Biden.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby told ABC News on Sunday that the president knows there are very strong feelings about the war in Gaza.
“He understands that, he respects that and as he has said many times, we certainly respect the right of peaceful protest,” Kirby said. “People should have the ability to air their views and to share their perspectives publicly, but it has to be peaceful.”
Kirby added that the president condemns antisemitism and condemns hate speech.
At USC, leadership has cancelled the main commencement ceremony after it called off the valedictorian speech by a Muslim student who said she was silenced by anti-Palestinian hatred.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said on Sunday she believed that cancelling the commencement was a decision “they had to make.”
“They were expecting about 65,000 people on campus, and they just did not feel that it was going to be safe,” Bass said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
