Graduates of Pitzer College in the U.S. handed Palestinian flags to the college's president, Strom Thacker, who rejected calls to divest from Israel during the graduation ceremony. A video circulated on social media showed several students, adorned in keffiyehs, climbing the stage with each holding a Palestinian flag. As each student approached for recognition, they greeted President Thacker and handed him a Palestinian flag, which he received and passed to someone else next to him.
The university is located in California and had previously refused to divest in response to the Israeli war in Gaza. President Thacker opposed an academic boycott resolution passed by Pitzer's highest democratic authority. A recent poll indicated that a majority of university students support the anti-Israel protests sweeping universities across the nation.
