The Office of the Provost sent an email Monday to the student body announcing that the valedictorian will not be speaking at this year’s graduation.

Andrew T. Guzman, the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, said the decision was based on maintaining “campus security and safety” in the email. The valedictorian, Asna Tabassum, said in a public statement later Monday she feels the university has “abandoned” her.

“This decision is not only necessary to maintain the safety of our campus and students, but is consistent with the fundamental legal obligation - including the expectations of federal regulators - that universities act to protect students and keep our campus community safe,” said Guzman in the message to the USC community.

The decision was made after days of complaints from students, alumni and others who viewed the valedictorian’s social media activity as antisemitic.

“Anti-Muslim and anti-Palestinian voices have subjected me to a campaign of racist hatred because of my uncompromising belief in human rights for all… I was hoping to use my commencement speech to inspire my classmates with a message of hope. By canceling my speech, USC is only caving to fear and rewarding hatred,” Tabassum said in her two-page statement.

Guzman said the decision was made primarily out of concerns for on-campus safety. “The intensity of feelings, fueled by both social media and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, has grown to include many voices outside of USC and has escalated to the point of creating substantial risks relating to security and disruption at commencement,” he wrote. “We cannot ignore the fact that similar risks have led to harassment and even violence at other campuses.”

In the statement, Tabassum wrote that she met with the Office of the Provost Sunday to express her own concerns about safety at commencement, to which they responded that “the University had the resources to take appropriate safety measures for my valedictory speech, but that they would not be doing so since increased security protections is not what the University wants to ‘present as an image.’”