University of Oregon students hold pro-Palestinian commencement ceremony: 'The People's Commencement'

As a way to close out a year of protesting, pro-Palestinian graduating University of Oregon students held their own commencement ceremony, which they dubbed "The People's Commencement."

About two dozen would-be graduates participated in the event, held Friday at Gerlinger Lawn. About 100 students, UO employees and community members attended. The UO Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine group helped coordinate the event, bringing in tables, a stage and food.

Protests on university campuses erupted following the Hamas attack that killed almost 1,200 people in Israel on Oct. 7 and the subsequent reported killing of over 35,000 Palestinians, with thousands of identifications still needing to be completed. UO student groups banded together to protest, with names like Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voices for Peace, Working Committee of Grads for Palestine and Young Democratic Socialists of America. In late April, the groups formed the UO Palestine Coalition and began a nearly month-long encampment, calling for actions from UO admin including divestment.

Graduating students donned their caps and gowns and picked up custom stoles with watermelon print, which has become a symbol for Palestinians as it has the same colors − red, green, black and white — as the Palestinian flag.

Rocky Stern, who has bachelor's degrees in environmental studies and philosophy, said this honorary ceremony meant a lot to her, even more than the upcoming ceremonies put on by UO.

"This is really the people who I want to hear talk," Stern said about her peers at Friday's ceremony. "More than like the big Autzen Stadium graduation, this feels more personal. I feel like most people don't get to have a graduation ceremony where they know every single person speaking."

During the ceremony, four students spoke about their experiences, saying they thought it was important that underclassmen continue to speak out moving forward.

Stern was one of the speakers. She expressed her pride in her peers.

"This might be the last time that I'm speaking to you all like this," Stern said. "It is up to us to carry the flame to be the hope and to build the future. If we do nothing, then we sacrifice our humanity. Look around you, this is what we're fighting for. We are here because we are the hope of every person whose heart beats for change in Palestine."

Stern told the Register-Guard that they will have many memories from their involvement in the pro-Palestinian efforts. Originally, Stern was encouraged to join the movement because of a friend. Because they are Jewish, they first got involved in JVP and then became active at the encampment.

Stern, who is originally from New Jersey, had a sort of culture shock coming to the West Coast for college. In their entire time at UO searching for community they finally found it in the encampment.

"You spend a month just spending all your time with these people, and it's a type of family that you form," Stern said. "I think about the moments that really were nice. It was very stressful, don't get me wrong. But there were these moments in time where everything fell into place.

"This feels like the most truly significant thing I've done in my time at this university."

Gabriela Moreno, who first introduced Stern to the movement, was a lead negotiator for the coalition and now is graduating with her bachelor's degree in planning, public policy and management.

Moreno said her major was very applicable to the pro-Palestinian movement as well as the response from institutions. Going forward, she wants to continue doing similar work and advocating for Palestinians and an end to the violence in Gaza.

"This movement is one of the purest embodiments of the way I view the world, the way that I want to conduct myself, how I want to apply the things that I've learned," Moreno said. "I've been doing social justice and racial justice work since I was around 11, 12 or so. I've known that I've always wanted to do this stuff ... as a Jewish person of color."

Over the summer, Moreno plans to help find students in Gaza to apply for the new scholarships via the Scholars at Risk network to study at UO, which was one aspect of the agreement she helped settle with the university in late May. She also plans to visit UO and check in on the progress of the Palestine Coalition as well as expanded Palestinian studies.

The ceremony was also meant to honor those who were unable to complete their degrees in Gaza. Alongside the stage, there were 12 chairs set out, honoring the 12 universities in Gaza that had been damaged or completely destroyed. The ceremony opened with a moment of silence.

Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon students hold pro-Palestinian commencement ceremony