You probably know Youssef Hasweh from his social media presence. Going by @youssefuniversity on TikTok and Instagram, he dedicates his accounts to creating content for prospective and current college students. Over the last few years, Hasweh has helped students get into — and thrive at — their dream schools by reviewing essays, spotlighting scholarships, and sharing his own personal experiences. In 2021, Her Campus awarded Hasweh “College Influencer of the Year” for his hard work and advocacy. Suffice it to say, he has been a poster child for college kids everywhere.
But in his senior year, everything was turned upside-down.
Hasweh is one of five University of Chicago students whose degrees were withheld after the spring 2024 semester due to their involvement with an on-campus pro-Palestine encampment that occurred in May. The nine-day encampment, titled “the UChicago Popular University for Gaza,” started on April 29 and was held on the Main Quadrangle by UChicago United for Palestine (UCUP). The protest ended after police raided the encampment on May 7.
On May 24, Hasweh received an email from UChicago stating he was identified as an individual who may have been involved in disruptive conduct during the encampment, and due to his involvement in the school’s Disciplinary System for Disruptive Conduct, his degree would “not be conferred until the resolution of this matter.”
So, at his class’ graduation on June 1, Hasweh was permitted to attend the convocation ceremony and walk across the stage with his peers, but he did not receive his actual diploma. To this day, the matter remains unresolved.
Hasweh is not alone. In addition to his UChicago peers, college students at schools across the country are still waiting to hear whether their degrees will be conferred following disciplinary actions. According to USA Today, some schools, like Harvard, may not confer these degrees until as late as 2026.
“It all just feels like this sick, twisted nightmare,” Hasweh says in an exclusive interview with Her Campus. “Like, I’m just waiting to wake up.”
As a very active member of the UChicago community, Hasweh admits, “I expected to be the last person the university would do this to.” Hasweh worked in UChicago’s school’s admissions office until he was fired after he posted a video about his arrest in the fall. (On Nov. 9, 2023, Hasweh was one of 26 students arrested for trespassing seven hours into the UChicago United For Palestine sit-in at the school’s Rosenwald Hall; the charges were dropped.) While working at admissions, he was flown out to represent UChicago at college admissions fairs, answered phone calls from prospective parents, gave tours, and attended private lunches for children of donors.
“They loved me and the admissions office,” Hasweh says. “[This situation] has left such a bitter taste in my mouth.”
With everything that has unfolded during his senior year, what’s next for Hasweh and his platform as a college influencer isn’t an easy question for him to answer. “I’ve loved [content creation] and it’s been my life for years, but how do I sit down and do another ‘how to get a [scholarship] video’ when I had one of the most untraditional, heinous college experiences ever?” Hasweh says.
Although he’s unsure about his future in content creation, Hasweh is determined to continue his work in social impact. As a first-generation and Palestinian-Moroccan student, advocating for the Palestinian cause remains central to his efforts. “Whether it pays or not, that’s the space that I’m going to be in,” he says. “My next steps are so rooted in what I can do for [Gaza] and I’m prepared to search for next steps without a degree — and that’s just an unfortunate reality of standing on your identity at UChicago.”
Job prospects aside, Hasweh says earning his degree would’ve been momentous for his family. “To get me [to where I am] started from before I was born,” he says, explaining how his parents experienced homelessness after coming to the U.S.; they took care of his older brother, who has cerebral palsy; and his sister took a leave of absence when his father passed away to ensure Hasweh could attend his dream school.
“There have been sacrifices I literally could never repay in my life, but the only thing that could get me close to repaying that was getting them the degree for them,” he says. “That degree physically embodied decades of sacrifice and pain, and it’s so unfortunate that I do not have it at the moment.”