A graduating Harvard University student went off script and upbraided Harvard over the university’s treatment of students protesting against what they say is a genocide being carried out by Israel in Gaza.
“As I stand here today, I must take a moment to recognize my peers – the 13 undergraduates in the class of 2024 that will not graduate today,” said student Shruthi Kumar, who was chosen to deliver the English commencement remarks for the undergraduate class.
Kumar’s thoughts were widely supported by other Harvard students. More than 1,000 students walked out of the ceremony as part of a staged protest, many waving Palestinian flags or banners calling for an end to genocide.
The unscripted remarks came as 13 pro-Palestine students were barred from graduating for their involvement in campus protests, the Harvard Crimson reported, even after a majority of the university’s faculty of arts and sciences voted for the students to have their degrees conferred.