AIBU to say that graduation ceremonies are not the place to make political statements?

[anythingbutlillies]

Hard hat on.

DC's graduation today. Fabulous day, but it did not sit well with me that a few chose to unfurl a flag / raise a scarf while they were on the stage.
Just no! So very selfish.

Interested to hear if I am being precious?

Nor do I. Does anyone?

People need to be aware of their surroundings. Not every occasion is appropriate to voice one's political views. There are plenty of other opportunities than a once in a lifetime celebration of academic success.

And that's apart from all the other issues which I won't go into because you'll take them of evidence that I'm a Jewish supremacist who enjoys wallowing in the blood of dead children.

Apparently not so far as shouting support for any other oppressed people at any opportunity.

And other students have also overcome adversity and struggle in order to graduate, and they want to use their moment in the sun to draw attention to a cause they believe in, as is their right. Your daughter can do it her way, and they can do it theirs.

I will still never believe that a graduation ceremony is the right place to make a political point. Apart from anything else there literally isn't time. They run on a very tight schedule. Also it's disrespectful.

Oh well. I think it's an ideal place, and that the purpose of protest is not to be respectful. And since it's not illegal it's likely to continue for many decades yet, as it did for decades before now.

😂do one? How very articulate!

It would appear that the majority of voters - 60% - are also pathetic.
I'll take it tbh.

What makes it an ideal place?

If you say so. It's not something I've ever seen and I've been to a fair few.

Oh, lots of reasons.

Universities have always been places of social revolution and political engagement and that long tradition is upheld by students engaging in political protest today.

Many universities invest in unethical companies which feed the machine of war. A graduation is an opportunity to protest and challenge these investment practices in front of a large audience.

Protests have to be inconvenient, controversial and public to be effective. As this thread so amply proves, a graduation ceremony ticks these boxes.

What would "effective" look like in this case?

How strange. Certainly there were flags at my first graduation over a decade ago. Palestinian flags then too; it was the early 2000s, so the time of the Second Intifada. I didn't attend my second graduation because I was working abroad, and I don't recall whether there were flags at my third and fourth. But I also saw flags, badges, slogans and other such demonstrations of political feeling at family members' graduations too.

Ah well everyone's different then.

Divestment from Israeli companies. Prompting discussion and engagement from their audience - for example, by encouraging an attendee to start a 400 comment thread on mumsnet discussing the issue. Showing solidarity to Palestinian students.

And peace was finally achieved in the middle east and they all lived happily ever after.

The end.

Do you think that's incredibly likely because a couple of graduates wave flags at their graduation? I mean the current war has been going on a while and there aren't many people who don't know about it. I think it would be a lot more likely to put people off the cause then draw them in, because it would just come across as irritating posturing and attention seeking. Preaching to the converted at best.

🤣🤣 more achieved by students than multiple politicians and other interested parties across decades and many nations.

Nope I still see it as futile posturing and hypocritical to boot.

If the universities are funding a genocide then shouldn’t the students be boycotting them not accepting degrees from them?

Flags at graduation ceremonies are only one part of it. There's a whole movement (Boycott, Disinvest, Sanction) with student activist behind it, along with other forms of protest and activism (occupations, sit ins, marches, letter writing campaigns, fundraising, etc). Even if you don't consider the flag waving to be effective (and in isolation I agree it's not going to to a great deal), as part of a broader process it has the capacity to effect change.

Yeah I've heard of BDS. In fact I pass a graffiti sign for it on my way to work every day. That sign probably has as much impact as students waving flags on a stage while everyone there wishes they'd stop messing about. Maybe more.

There's nothing students or anyone else can do to affect the outcome of the conflict. Don't you think it would have happened by now if there was?

I don't believe that's true. I think it's a hopeless and nihilistic thing thing people to say to absolve themselves of responsibility for trying to stand up for their beliefs.

And even if activism does nothing, I do it for the sake of my soul. I wear my Palestine flag pin and write to my MP and donate money and share information online because it's essential to my own humanity to say and do something, even if it's pointless and doesn't change anything. My sense of self requires me to try. Perhaps these students feel the same.

And today is the memorial day for the Srebrenica genocide. I wonder if any of the flag waving students are aware of that?

I really don't feel a responsibility for solving that particular issue. And I don't think there's much point trying to find simple solutions to complex problems.

I'm a decent person and I do my bit. My conscience is clear. Hopefully I'm able to take a more balanced view than someone who sees themselves as an activist for a particular cause. All flag waving does is sow division. It doesn't raise awareness, never has, never will.

They cannot claim to care when they back Hamas. They are merely being fashionable.