Kambiz Fattahi (GRD ’08) was sitting in the first row of the commencement audience on the afternoon of May 18 holding a box of cookies for his graduating friend.

But he never got to see her walk across the stage. And he never got to hand her the cookies.

According to Fattahi, about five minutes after historian Bernard Bailyn, the keynote speaker at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences’ commencement in McDonough Gymnasium, concluded his speech lauding the American traditions of freedom and justice, two Department of Public Safety officers removed Fattahi from the ceremony. Fattahi, who was born in Iran, said that when he asked for a reason, the officers told him that his Middle Eastern appearance was making others at the ceremony uncomfortable and that they had received complaints about his presence.

“They said, `You are making some people nervous. We received some complaints,'” he said. “Truthfully, I just didn’t expect it.”

He said that after being brought into the hallway outside the gymnasium, he was then asked for identification, at which point he produced his GOCard, driver’s license and business card, which distinguished him as a reporter for the BBC Persian Service.

The officers, he said, proceeded to call the Arlington County Police Department to confirm his address as well as a university official to confirm his status as a student.

“They kept saying things like, `Don’t put your hand in your pocket,'” Fattahi recalled. “They treated me like a suspect. . It was as if they thought they caught a fugitive.”

DPS does not allow its officers to speak to the media.

DPS Director Darryl Harrison arrived in the hallway after the officers verified Fattahi’s identity, but Fattahi said the police chief did not intervene when the two officers searched Fattahi’s bag. He added that they subsequently refused to return his business card, with one claiming that he had a friend in the BBC who he wanted to contact concerning Fattahi.

“How they treated me was really humiliating. . How dare he keep my private information?” Fattahi said. “In public in a hallway, it was very embarrassing.”

Fattahi said he holds Harrison responsible for the incident because the guards were allowed to proceed under Harrison’s supervision. Harrison declined to comment on his or the officers’ participation in the incident.

Having been detained for about half an hour, Fattahi said he returned to the ceremony after his friend was called to walk across the stage. He said that the guards followed him back to his seat and remained there to watch him.

Fattahi called the officers’ actions “unprofessional.”

“I care less about what people thought of me or said about me,” he said. “I hold the police responsible. Of course [they] have security concerns, but [they] have to operate within boundaries.”

Fattahi said that he contacted the American Civil Liberties Union to seek advice and that he is also considering hiring a private investigator. He said that he filed a complaint with the university, which told him that it will look into whether the officers were legally at fault.

Harrison said that DPS has received the complaint and will follow up on it “with standard protocol and procedures.”

University spokesperson Julie Bataille also confirmed that Georgetown is conducting an investigation into the matter, but declined to comment further.

“Georgetown University takes allegations like this very seriously,” she said.

After having a physical reaction to the incident – he said that he had an upset stomach and a headache – Fattahi left the arena before congratulating his friend who had just graduated.

He said it was ironic that the incident occurred directly after the keynote speech about freedom.

“In McDonough, students receive the Pluralism in Action program. It’s ironic that you have a lot of diversity and promote religious understanding,” Fattahi said. “In my university, by a private police, this is out of the question.”