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A crowd of around 200-250 people, including Cal Poly Humboldt graduates, their friends and family members, gathered at the Humboldt County Courthouse in Eureka today for a “Free Palestine” commencement ceremony to honor the lives lost in Gaza. 

For many students, the alternative commencement ceremony was an act of protest against the Cal Poly Humboldt administration and its handling of the recent pro-Palestine protest on campus, which culminated in over 30 arrests after an eight-day occupation of Siemens Hall, one of the university’s administrative buildings. Over 300 Cal Poly Humboldt faculty and staff have condemned the university’s treatment of the students and called for the immediate termination of President Tom Jackson and his Chief of Staff Mark Johnson.

University officials imposed a “hard closure” on campus during the protest. Campus remains closed “due to clean-up work [and] concerns about maintaining the security of buildings,” according to a statement from the university. As such, administrators decided to move commencement ceremonies to three off-campus locations.

During today’s pro-Palestine commencement ceremony at the courthouse, participating graduates dedicated their commencement to a deceased Palestinian child who would never have the opportunity to graduate.

“I am a social work major, and I believed prior to all of this that reform was possible, that we could fix things if we fixed an individual’s circumstances,” Athena Burgess said to her graduating peers. “I don’t believe that anymore. I don’t believe that’s possible. I’ve witnessed and been a victim to how consuming these systems are – we all have. We are stronger together. We will rise and create a new world together, and that’s what we’re doing. Palestine will be free in our lifetime.”

Keep scrolling for more pictures from today’s ceremony.

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