Among the masses of celebrating graduates and family members at Sunday’s Commencement ceremony, a few small groups of graduating seniors and outside protesters stood in opposition to speakers Secretary of State Madeline Albright and World Bank Group President James Wolfensohn.
About seven graduating seniors stood with their backs turned to the stage as Wolfensohn received his honorary degree, and they walked out of the student section during Albright’s keynote address. Other protesters walked through the crowd of guests holding signs, and one protester yelled objections during the keynote address.
About six people were escorted off the premises and were not allowed back in, said Barbara Porter, director of University Relations.
Graduate Charles Bussel said he walked out during Albright’s address because the University asked the group of students to sit down after other students complained. A crowd of students surrounding the protesters stood in applause when the group walked out of the section.
I feel that it was my obligation to protest today, Bussel said. We were trying to make a statement but not disturb anybody. We weren’t heckling the speakers.
Graduate Kate Pastor said she walked out to protest the University’s failure to respond to students’ objection to the speakers. She and other students protested outside President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg’s residence May 7 and sent letters to Trachtenberg objecting to the selection of Albright and Wolfensohn.
They received no response from the University, she said.
We just wanted to make a statement, Pastor said. The University really invited protests. Quite honestly, I don’t even think we gave them what they expected.
Porter said the security at the ceremony was the same as any event that hosts a dignitary. She said the walk-out during Albright’s speech was not disruptive and was about the level of protest the University had expected.
It was not disruptive, Porter said. It was fairly quiet, but it was certainly noticeable.
U.S. Park Police escorted sophomore Husna Ali-Khan out of the ceremony after she held a sign that read Albright is a Criminal of War. She said the police officer grabbed her by the collar and forced her to leave.
He was pretty rough with her, said Donald Hitchcock, a guest at the ceremony who was pulled aside after he asked for the badge number of the officer who escorted Ali-Khan off the premises.
We weren’t here to protest, we were here for celebration, Hitchcock said. We got involved when we saw people being mistreated.
Ali-Khan joined protesters from the University of Maryland and GW’s Progressive Student Union on 17th and E Streets to voice her objection to Albright while graduates and their families walked out of the ceremony. She said some students thanked her while others verbally confronted her.
Two protesters, who stood in the back of the ceremony watching Albright’s address, were also escorted out of the ceremony by park police. The protesters, from the International Action Center, said they attended the ceremony to observe the keynote address and had organized a small demonstration outside the ceremony before Commencement began.
The police are escorting us out just because we were listening, protester Malcolm Cannon said.
Because the University had a permit for the ceremony, it reserved the right to ask protesters to leave the Ellipse, U.S. Park Police Lieutenant Phil Cholak said. Protesters who were asked to leave cooperated with police, he said.
Graduating senior Mark Lund announced before the speakers were introduced Sunday that anyone who attempted to disrupt the Commencement ceremony would be escorted off the premises because the Ellipse is a First Amendment park.
Porter said the University explained its policy regarding Commencement protests during each individual school’s ceremony the day before.
We wanted to just explain the policy, which would be a one-warning policy, Porter said.
