Video captures Seattle U provost pulling Palestinian flag from graduating student. CAIR Washington demands public apology 34%
By Cornelius Hocker43%
6/18/2026, 11:18:05 PM
BS Summary: This article contains 23 faulty reasoning types, including Framing Effect, Halo Effect, and Biased Writer Voice, with Appeal to Emotion as the most egregious example at 17% saturation with 149 hits. Analysis detected 1,265 faulty-reasoning hits from 875 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 41.9% and a BS Rank of 34% (14,539 of 21,886 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 66.40% of the article peer group.
The nonprofit, Muslim civil rights group CAIR Washington is demanding Seattle University to publicly apologize to a student after an administrator yanked a Palestinian flag from her hands during a commencement ceremony on Saturday.
In a video of the incident posted on social media, the student begins to unfurl the Palestinian flag as she approaches Provost Shane Martin for an official graduation photograph.
Martin grabs the flag and hides it from the view of the camera as the photograph is taken.
He then grabs the student by her right arm, leading her away before returning to where he was.
The video has been shared, viewed, and commented on by hundreds of thousands of people.
Many expressed outrage at what the provost did.
Others supported his actions.
The interaction lasted around 10 seconds, but CAIR Washington said the implications will last longer.
At a press conference held by CAIR Washington on Wednesday, the student, Sumeyya Osman, spoke about the incident.
Osman said she knew she needed to “speak up for the ones who were not able to be on the stage” to explain why she tried to wave the Palestinian flag.
She then described the interaction with Martin.
Initially, she thought he was trying to shake her hand.
“I told him that I don’t shake hands, obviously because he’s a man and I’m a Muslim,” she said.
“But then he just proceeded to try and take the flag away from me aggressively."
Osman added that she was “very mad” as she walked off stage, and eventually became “scared and anxious” over the interaction.
“I was shaking a bit, “she said.
“I asked the person next to me, ‘Do you think anything is going to happen to me?
I’m afraid.
What if the ceremony ends and they pull me to the side and something happens to me?’”
Osman said she ultimately left the ceremony early due to the stress she experienced.
In statements provided to KUOW, neither Seattle University nor Martin directly addressed the provost preventing Osman from showing the Palestinian flag in her official graduation photograph.
Seattle University officials referenced “guidelines on what can be displayed on stage to ensure a dignified and consistent ceremony for all students and families.”
For his part, Martin apologized for what he described as a “misunderstanding” between himself and Osman, saying that he “did not observe or hear any request from Ms.
Osman that she wished to avoid physical contact as part of her Muslim faith.”
Read their full statements below:
Media statement attributed to Seattle University
Seattle University’s commencement is a milestone celebrating the achievements of all graduates.
Like many higher education institutions, Seattle University maintains guidelines on what can be displayed on stage to ensure a dignified and consistent ceremony for all students and families.
In keeping with those guidelines, items that are not aligned with the onstage activities are not permitted.
Fostering a supportive environment where students can thoughtfully engage with challenging topics is core to our Jesuit, Catholic educational mission.
We recognize that members of our community hold deeply felt perspectives on many pressing issues and value informed debate and critical reasoning across the university.
At the same time, commencement is a formal academic ceremony designed to honor each graduate equally within a shared tradition, and we take steps to preserve an inclusive experience for all in attendance.
We remain committed to a community rooted in dignity, respect, care for one another, and a diversity of viewpoints.
Statement attributed to Provost Shane Martin
As one of the university leaders recognizing graduates during our commencement ceremony, I place great value on honoring the accomplishments of our students and respecting the dignity of our diverse student body.
Our tradition is to shake hands with graduates upon receiving their diplomas, and we respect the wishes of students who signal that they prefer not to engage in physical contact.
I apologize for a misunderstanding that our student Sumeyya B.
Osman has raised since the ceremony.
I did not observe or hear any request from Ms.
Osman that she wished to avoid physical contact as part of her Muslim faith.
As a leader of a faith-based institution, I have deep respect for the many religious traditions represented on our campus and in the world.
If I had known Ms.
Osman did not want to be touched, I would have honored the request just as I did for at least a dozen other graduating students who signaled clearly they did not wish to be touched.
I am sorry for the misunderstanding, and regret that this event has taken attention away from the overall commencement ceremony, the achievements of all of our graduates, and especially the moving benediction that closed the ceremony.
That prayer was delivered by a Muslim student and included scripture from the Quran, a powerful demonstration of the inclusive values at the core of our mission.
To quote from her prayer for the graduates, “As we conclude our time at Seattle University, we must remember that the gifts we have been given, the strengths we have cultivated, and the lessons we have learned should inspire us to bring peace and mercy into this world.”
Speakers
3speakers72%attributed speech241writer words
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Selected voice
94%flagged-word coverageShane Martin
297 attributed words47% of attributed speech61% writer coverage
Attribution is sentence-level. Pattern percentages are calculated only from words assigned to that voice.
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