Sereen Haddad is a determined young woman. At 20, she recently completed a four-year psychology degree at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in just three years, achieving top honors. Yet, despite meeting all academic requirements, she has been denied her diploma. "It's not because I didn’t fulfill the criteria," she explained, "but because I advocated for Palestinian lives."
Haddad, a Palestinian American, has been active in campus efforts to raise awareness about Palestinian rights through her involvement with Students for Justice in Palestine. The issue is deeply personal for her—with family ties to Gaza, she has lost over 200 relatives in the ongoing conflict.
In April 2024, she joined VCU students and supporters in an attempt to establish a protest encampment. The university called the police the same night, resulting in violent clashes. Protesters were pepper-sprayed, beaten, and 13 were arrested. Though Haddad faced no charges, she was hospitalized. "I suffered head trauma," she said. "I was bleeding, bruised, with cuts everywhere. Officers threw me onto the concrete multiple times."
However, last year’s protest was not the reason her degree is being withheld—it was this year’s quiet memorial for that event. The university and campus police repeatedly altered their stance, highlighting concerns that extend far beyond the campus itself.
The conflict in Gaza has eroded many established norms, from free expression to the laws of war. It is not an overstatement to say that the international order of the past 77 years is now in question, as legal and political obligations between nations weaken.
This decline began with the failure of liberal democracies to curb the war. It worsened when no action was taken to prevent attacks on hospitals, then deepened as starvation became a weapon. Now, all-out war is no longer seen as an atrocity but as an official strategy.
The consequences span global, regional, and national politics. Dissent is suppressed, language is censored, and once-liberal societies grow more militarized against their own people.
Many overlook how much has changed in less than two years. But ignoring the breakdown of the international system that shaped generations risks collective consequences.
On April 29, 2025, a group of VCU students gathered on campus to mark the forcible removal of the previous year’s protest.
Read next
Labour faces key challenge as voting begins in England, Scotland and Wales
Polling has opened across England, Scotland and Wales in a series of local, mayoral and parliamentary contests – the biggest electoral test Keir Starmer and the Labour government have faced since the 2024 general election.
As millions of people across Great Britain go to the polls on Thursday, party leaders are
Andy Burnham's Green Party Appearance Fuels Labour Backlash
Andy Burnham’s choice to join a progressive rally featuring leading Green and Liberal Democrat figures has provoked criticism from certain Labour MPs, who claim he is weakening their local election message.
The Greater Manchester mayor, regarded as one of the leading contenders to challenge Keir Starmer for the Labour
Scottish mother stranded abroad after newborn breaches UK dual citizenship rules
A British woman from Aberdeen has been stranded abroad after her 11‑month‑old baby was prevented from boarding a flight because of new rules regarding dual nationals.
Sarah Schloegl was refused board on a Ryanair flight from Alicante last week after she went to Spain for a short break