U.S.C. Celebrates in a Brief Moment of Joy, With No Mention of Campus Tumult

With fireworks, a marching band, celebrity congratulations and a drone show, the University of Southern California on Thursday tried to smooth over the weeks of tumult that have cleaved its campus and upended its traditional commencement with a hastily assembled party for its graduates.

There were no protesters or any direct mentions of the recent turmoil in the tight one-hour ceremony at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Jimmy Kimmel, the late night TV host, said in a videotaped greeting that “this class has been through a lot.”

But he did not get into specifics, and for most of the audience of about 20,000 graduates and their relatives, the evening was notable for its departure from the angst of the past month.

The party was held in lieu of the typical pomp and pageantry-filled commencement at the campus. It took place three weeks after the university canceled a speech by its valedictorian, who is Muslim, which touched off intense campus protests. The school dropped its main stage commencement, saying it could not provide the level of additional security that would be needed.

Despite the pyrotechnics and thundering music, Thursday night’s audience was rather subdued, with much of the 78,000-seat stadium empty. Celebrities, professors and an Olympian wished graduates well, mostly on videos that played on the big screen, giving the ceremony an air of a pandemic-era Zoom call. Much of the action took place in the chilly night sky, where drones spelled out “U.S.C.” and fireworks exploded over Los Angeles as thousands of faces looked up.

The “Trojan Family Graduate Celebration,” as the event was billed, was announced 10 days after the university canceled the main ceremony, saying that it could not ensure the safety of more than 60,000 people.