Statement Regarding Georgia State Commencement Ceremonies

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 accomplishment.

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 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.

Sincerely,

M. Brian Blake
President