UC Berkeley graduate denied diploma on stage over Palestinian flag

Berkeley educators refused to hand a diploma to a graduate who held aloft the Palestinian flag unless he got rid of it.

It happened during the Spring graduation ceremony for the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California Berkeley, when a student walked across the stage to get their diploma and flashed the flag.

In a video from the ceremony, the student walked up to the person holding their diploma and the professor refused to hand it over. 

One of the announcers said, “I’m sorry, but we’re not allowed to have flags.”

“Flags are prohibited. We’re not allowed to have flags.”

In the footage from the celebration, it appeared the student was being instructed to get rid of the flag before the ceremony could resume and his diploma would be handed over.

The ceremony was halted for more than a minute as the student carrying the flag refused to put it away to get his diploma.

This happened in front of the entire audience made up of family members of graduates, faculty and fellow students.

As the audience booing got louder,  the announcer apologized and said “I’m sorry it’s not our policy, it’s the university policy.”

“We are not allowed to have flags,” the announcer added, instructing the student they could leave it with them while they went to get their diploma.

Eventually, the graduate walked over to someone in the audience and handed over the flag.

He then walked back on stage to the professor holding his diploma, grabbed it, and exited the stage very quickly.

The school is now facing a backlash from student groups who are upset about what happened.

“Commencement is a reflection of a student’s identity and values,” a representative from a campus student coalition told Roya News. 

“To publicly discipline a student and hold their hard-earned degree over a flag is a severe overreaction that stifles free expression.”

A spokesperson for the university issued a statement to the outlet that “Campus guidelines regarding commencement decorum, stating that demonstrations or political displays that disrupt the flow of the graduation ceremony are prohibited.”

Last month, a failed Palestinian suicide bomber was invited to the university to give a speech to students–earning raucous applause from the crowd during her video appearance for a “Palestinian Political Prisoners Day” event.

Israa Jaabis, who was released from an Israeli jail in 2023 as part of a prisoner exchange related to the October 7 attacks, spoke to students in April at the university’s law school for the “teach-in” organized by UC Berkeley Students for Justice in Palestine.

Video posted by the pro-Palestine Berkeley student group — which describes itself as fighting “for Palestinian liberation until Palestine is liberated from the River to the Sea” — featured blurry footage of students erupting in applause during the speech.

The California Post reached out to UC Berkeley for further comment.