ATLANTA — Protests continued Saturday near Georgia State University's campus following the removal of two students during a graduation ceremony.
About 50 demonstrators gathered at Hurt Park, surrounded by extra police presence.
This comes after Friday's protests ended with tense interactions with police.
"It's only going to get worse if you don't push back," one GSU student named Des told 11Alive. "They're just testing to see how far they can go before they hit a breaking point."
She also spoke about Wednesday's graduation ceremony incident, adding, "There was a master's graduation ceremony. And a person wearing a keffiyeh...It's to show solidarity with Palestine. [They] got escorted off stage by the cops, and they threatened to rescind their diploma."
Here's the video of the alleged incident that's been circulating on social media:
A spokesperson from GSU shared these two statements, which appear to offer a different narrative:
"Social accounts are misrepresenting facts.
Per commencement procedure, flags are not permitted as students cross the stage, but stoles and other garments displaying national or cultural symbols are permitted by guests and graduates.
Students were allowed to wear such items across the stage at Wednesday’s and Thursday’s ceremonies. We have reiterated GSU’s rules to our outside security firm, commencement volunteers and others who interact with students and their families. We are looking into an isolated incident where this may have not been the case at check in."
The second:
"Dear Panther Community,
This week, we celebrated thousands of Georgia State graduates during six ceremonies in our Convocation Center. It is an absolute honor to watch our students cross the stage with their proud families and the entire university community cheering them on. Being able to congratulate each student on stage is one of my favorite duties as president. I know what it takes for our students to get to that finish line, and these ceremonies are a time to celebrate their hard work and incredible accomplishments.
Our students often wear stoles and garments that are representational of their faith or display national or cultural symbols as they cross the stage. Our commencement volunteers work to ensure that these are compliant with our commencement procedures. I love seeing the colorful stoles, decorated mortarboards and other symbols that show their pride.
Flags are not permitted during the ceremonies. I have been disheartened to see misinformation on social media about some incidents at our ceremonies, and I hope to clarify it here.
At our 9 a.m. master’s ceremony Wednesday, a graduate wearing a keffiyeh — as many of our students did — attempted to bring a flag across the stage. We explained to her the commencement procedures, and she agreed to give the flag to security. The flag was returned after she crossed the stage. She then proceeded to the center aisle, was disruptive and was removed from the ceremony. Shortly after, another graduate took a microphone from the university band and was also peacefully escorted out. There were no repercussions for either graduate, aside from a warning and a reiteration of the University System of Georgia’s disruptive behavior policy.
At Wednesday’s 1 p.m. undergraduate ceremony, we were made aware of two isolated cases where garments — one worn by a guest, and one worn by a graduate — were mistaken for flags. The items were returned, and we regret the confusion. We immediately reiterated our procedures to our volunteers, facilities and external security teams and we are unaware of any additional issues.
I want to assure you that the university is fully compliant with state and federal laws and firmly committed to protecting our community’s First Amendment rights. Please find here the university’s Freedom of Expression policy.
If any member of the GSU community has any concerns, we encourage you to report any incidents you have experienced to the Office of Equity and Civil Rights Compliance.
I hope this information is helpful to the community. Again, I want to congratulate our graduates and continue to celebrate their success."
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However, Des and some of her fellow protesters remained disappointed with the email the university president, Brian Blake, sent to students.
"'Oh, that's not what happened,' but we have them on camera," Des said. "And that's exactly what happened."
The support at the park on Saturday stretched beyond just students. An 18-year-old high schooler who preferred not to share her name also joined the movement.
"There's this quote in my high school that's...it's hanging on the ceiling. And it says Martin Luther King, 'The time is always right to do what is right.' And I feel like it's... I need to do my part, especially because I'm 18 now," she told 11Alive.
Nearly a dozen police units, including Atlanta Police, GSU Police, and a few state troopers, attended the demonstration on Saturday. However, the interaction with officers didn't get physical this time.
Instead of marching, the protesters had an hour-long discussion about how to move forward and support each other.
"As a Georgia State student, my tuition money shouldn't be spent on funding genocide," Des said, while the high schooler simply remarked, "When people are dying, it's the right thing to do."
They eventually dispersed around 8 p.m.