UC Berkeley graduate denied diploma scroll while holding Palestinian flag on stage

Diploma withheld from UC Berkeley student at commencement until he drops flag

A student graduating at the University of California, Berkeley, had his diploma withheld from him, video shows, until he put aside the Palestinian flag he came onstage with. Credit: Alexis Atsilvsgi Zaragoza via Storyful

BERKELEY, Calif. - Videos circulating on social media show the moment a University of California, Berkeley graduate student was temporarily denied his diploma scroll for holding a Palestinian flag during a commencement ceremony.

The incident happened Friday during the commencement ceremony for UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy. In one video, the graduate student, identified as Hesham by a local chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement, is seen waving the Palestinian flag as he walks across the stage.

Another video shows Hesham speaking with Dean David C. Wilson at center stage as members of the crowd cheer him on, chanting, "Let him walk." Others in the audience can be heard booing and shouting, "This is America."

A woman standing at a podium off to the side of the stage is heard saying, "We’re not allowed to have flags," while Hesham continues holding the flag.

Student tosses flag before finally receiving diploma scroll

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Hesham and the woman briefly speak on stage as she reiterates that flags are not allowed during the ceremony. Hesham then turns toward the crowd and tosses the flag to someone in the audience before walking back across the stage, where he is handed his diploma scroll.

"This small act that I took waving the Palestinian flag, and the repression that followed it, is a small example of the UC system’s wider complicity toward the ongoing genocide in Gaza," Hesham said in a video response.

"I’m demanding that UC Berkeley cuts ties with genocide, cuts ties with companies that are fueling this ongoing genocide."

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UC Berkeley says policy prohibited flags

What they're saying:

Wilson later shared context about the incident, saying students were informed ahead of time that signs, banners, and flags would not be allowed at the ceremony.

"Prior to the ceremony, all students were provided with written, content- and perspective-neutral guidelines which clearly stated that all ‘SIGNS / BANNERS / FLAGS’ were prohibited in the venue," Wilson said.

Despite the brief pause, Wilson described the ceremony as successful overall.

"GSPP will always be a place where one's identity is honored, political commitments and perspectives are respected, and everyone’s voice matters," said the dean. "Upholding that commitment requires that we apply our community standards with fairness, neutrality, and consistency — not because rules matter more than people, but because genuine equity demands that we treat everyone by a standard consistent with our agreements, regardless of the cause they represent."