After a season of Gaza protests, America’s university graduates are polarised but resilient
After enduring covid and turmoil over free speech, the class of 2024 finally takes its bow
The graduation speech is a dismal genre, typically a sermon about showing grit and finding your own path, leavened by dad jokes. America’s university graduating classes of 2024 are unlikely to mind. The great majority of them started college four years ago, amid peak covid. This spring, protests over the war in Gaza disrupted many campuses and led to nearly 3,000 arrests nationwide. At the hotspot of Columbia University in New York, classes went online again, triggering covid flashbacks. University leaders and police prepared this month for tense scenes at graduation ceremonies.
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This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “The kids are still alright”
United States May 18th 2024
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From the May 18th 2024 edition
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