UCLA commencement ceremonies underway amid campus protests

The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) will hold three commencement ceremonies on Friday, June 14, after recent campus unrest regarding the Israel-Gaza war.

Commencement celebrations began on Thursday with over 70 events scheduled for the Class of 2024 through Sunday, June 16.

The main commencement ceremony will celebrate graduates in the College of Letters and Science and will take place in three installments. All three ceremonies will be held at the university's Pauley Pavilion at 11 a.m., 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.

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UCLA officials said security has been increased as concerns for demonstrations are a possibility after recent unrest on campus.

"For students, commencement is a powerful event — it's the culmination of years of hard work. It's also a profound moment for our graduates' loved ones. Our greatest hope is that UCLA students and the beauty of this milestone moment is the main focus of these ceremonies," said Mary Osako, UCLA Vice Chancellor of Strategic Communications.

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The Professional School graduation ceremonies will be held at venues around UCLA's campus, varying in size depending on the amount of graduates. The university will also hold departmental graduation ceremonies for undergraduates at various on-campus venues.

Some of the ceremonies will be available to watch live from UCLA's website.

All venues will have strict bag policies. The larger venues will only allow clear bags, while the smaller venues will allow clear bags and small clutches.

"UCLA's main commencements were poignant and simply beautiful. About 2,200 students came together in a sea of tassels, unified in their celebration of one another's success as UCLA graduates," said a statement from UCLA's Vice Chancellor of Communications, Mary Osako. "Students were overwhelmingly unified in their desire to mark this moment as a celebration of their success, with zero disruptions in the morning and less than one minute of chanting by a handful of students out of 2,200 newly minted graduates. The focus on students' achievements was inspiring and the ceremony concluded as it always does with the playing of UCLA's fight song. We couldn't be prouder of our graduates."