USC graduate student Mark Rayant standing next to school's anti-Israel encampment. (Mark Rayant)
The removal of the encampment on Sunday was the second time police swept the campus and removed protesters since last month.
Graduation ceremonies, apart from the main ceremony, kick off this week, with Rayant explaining to Fox News Digital that he and a buddy recently decided to take graduation photos ahead of officially securing their diplomas.
"I came to campus to take some graduation photos for my family, you know, for the memories of it. And I came wearing a shirt that I got at one of the Jewish organizations, wearing the dog tags to represent the hostages that are still in captivity, many of them are American citizens," Rayant said.
He then noticed a pair of anti-Israel agitators following him as he toured campus, he said.
A USC student is arrested by campus police in USC Village during the anti-Israel protest on campus on Monday, May 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Rayant said he took matters into his own hands and confronted the agitators, describing that Jews on campus will not be "silenced" by radicals.
"I walked up to them. And I said, you know, 'If you're going to be brave, if you really want to follow me, why don't you come and take a picture with me?' I told them, I wasn't afraid of them. I wasn't going to let them intimidate us. Because we deserve to be here too. I've worked very hard at this institution, I worked extremely hard to give back to my community, to build organizations that help people in need, and I deserve to celebrate my graduation. Whether these bullies and these aggressors want to intimidate us out of our celebration or not, we deserve that," he said.
A demonstrator confronts a security officer during a protest on the University of Southern California campus. (Robert Hanashiro/USA Today)
Rayant said his mentor described that he's never seen anything "on this level," even when he was sent to Auschwitz.
"What he told me when I asked him… ‘Have you seen anything like this since you were a little boy, before you were taken to Auschwitz?’ And what he told me was, 'In my lifetime, even when I was arrested and taken to Auschwitz, I never saw anything on this level. It was not this out in the open, because the Germans knew that Western society around them did not condone that type of behavior. And so they tried to be secretive about it. And they tried to cover it up, and the hatred was there, but it was less noticeable and in your face. This is different. You have people all across the world chanting for death, wishing death upon Jewish people and attacking them openly. You know, it's on a scale that's completely unprecedented,'" he continued.
LAPD officers in riot gear exit USC after they cleared out a anti-Israel encampment on Sunday, May 5, 2024 in Los Angeles. (Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
USC’s main graduation ceremony began to unravel last month, when a student holding anti-Israel views was chosen as valedictorian, before the school pulled her speech, citing safety concerns. The student, who is Muslim, called for an end to Israel in social media posts and defended her views in a subsequent media interview.
NYPD RELEASE VIDEO SHOWING PROFESSIONAL 'PROTEST CONSULTANT' AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
"The biggest disappointment was actually hearing from the university that they canceled her, silenced her completely, and then, in essence, scapegoated the Jewish community. And that put a target on the back of every Jewish student at USC. And what came out of that was just an incredible wave of vile antisemitism all across the university. And it really just represented a catastrophic failure of leadership," Rayant said.
Anti-Israel demonstrators rally in front of the University of Southern California campus, the day before commencement ceremonies are scheduled to begin, on May 7, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
The main graduation was canceled days later, as protests on campus continued and critics accused the school of "caving to campus terrorists." The canceled graduation marks the second time Rayant won’t don a cap and gown on stage, as his college graduation was held during the pandemic’s lockdown orders.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"If you are concerned about this, the way that I'm concerned about this: reach out to your representative, reach out to your congressperson, reach out to your mayor. Write to leaders at your university if you don't agree with their way of handling this, condemning it. You know, pull your funding if you think that they've mishandled the situation. Now's the time to speak out and show that we have a voice, because I think that these evil people, who are seeking to harass us and to destroy our democracy, I think they're outnumbered," Rayant said.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more Fox News politics content.
Subscribed
You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jewish-student-defies-anti-israel-radicals-stalked-him-california-campus-wont-be-silenced