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Palestinian American Student & Dad: 200 Relatives Killed in Gaza; VCU Withholds Diploma for Protest

2025-07-23 News & Politics
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Support our work: https://democracynow.org/donate/sm-desc-yt Virginia Commonwealth University is withholding the diploma of a Palestinian American student because of her campus activism. In a hearing Tuesday, officials examined the case of VCU student Sereen Haddad, who was told she would not receive her diploma at her graduation this year because of her participation in a peaceful memorial commemorating violent police arrests at a student encampment for Palestine in 2024. Sereen Haddad is the daughter of Tariq Haddad, a cardiologist who grew up in Gaza. Dr. Haddad made headlines last year for rejecting an invitation to meet with then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken because of the Biden administration’s support for Israel’s actions in Gaza. The Haddads have lost more than 200 members of their extended family in the nearly two-year-long assault. Democracy Now! is an independent global news hour that airs on over 1,500 TV and radio stations Monday through Friday. Watch our livestream at democracynow.org Mondays to Fridays 8-9 a.m. ET. Subscribe to our Daily Email Digest: https://democracynow.org/subscribe

Top Comments (10)

@squalter.kaufmann 2025-07-23

Pride in his daughter shines through his grief. I’ve rarely seen two more impressive humans than Dr. and Ms. Haddad.

663 22 replies
@Harry-xt6ev 2025-07-23

If her tuition was paid and she earned the grades. The diploma is hers and not giving it to her is fraud.

544 58 replies
@gregoryhillis3420 2025-07-23

Respect and admiration to both Dr. Haddad and his courageous and articulate daughter Sereen. She may not have received her diploma, but she definitely received an invaluable lesson on the power dynamics of higher education administration.

238 7 replies
@denniscostantini4179 2025-07-23

Society will pay for these injustices

214 7 replies
@yasmina764 2025-07-23

This made me cry soo hard, i have been watching the images of Gaza children been starved every day . This broke me , what an awful world we live in, what an awful world .

192 6 replies
@THH-yx8ge 2025-07-23

Its incredible that she could finish in 3 years while she lost over 200 members of her family.

151 16 replies
@iluvpink87 2025-07-23

Dad looks so proud of his daughter, and I would too if my child was like her.

146
@rubenrodriguez296 2025-07-23

"Free speech zone" in a University? Sounds like admitting the rest of the campus is not a free speech area.

145 11 replies
@gandhi9936 2025-07-23

The Genocide Convention states that perpetrators and those complicit should be held accountable.

62 1 replies
@dreamsbyte 2025-07-24

She has immense power, very rare to find a communicator like that at her age.

60 3 replies

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