The Forward: As a University of Southern California undergraduate, Asna Tabassum co-founded a student group that distributed supplies from USC’s medical school to areas of need around the world — Ukraine when war broke out, Turkey and Syria when they were ravaged by earthquakes. Her community service, along with her GPA, won Tabassum recognition as the school’s class of 2024 valedictorian — and thus, the opportunity to speak at commencement.
But the school informed Tabassum on Monday it was canceling her commencement address, following pressure from pro-Israel groups who sought her removal for linking on her Instagram page to a website that called for the “complete abolishment” of Israel.
