Harvard University’s commencement speaker dramatically went off script and slammed the Ivy League school for not admitting a small number of students involved in disruptive anti-Israel protests, before more than 1,000 students were also expelled.
Shruti Kumar, a Harvard University senior selected to deliver an English speech on Thursday, pulled out a piece of paper with controversial statements hidden in the sleeve of her gown and blasted university officials for their decision to deny diplomas to more than a dozen students.
“As I stand here today, I must express my gratitude to my 13 classmates from the Class of 2024 who are not graduating today,” Kumar told the crowd. video Posted by Harvard University.
“I am deeply disappointed by the intolerance towards free speech and the right to civil disobedience on college campuses,” she said of the protests known for replacing the U.S. flag with the Palestinian flag.
More than 1,000 people staged a walkout to denounce the disqualification of the 13 students, with many chanting “let them go!” Harvard Crimson I will report.
Others held signs, including a large banner that read “Stop the genocide.”
Harvard University last week suspended five students and sanctioned more than 20 others for participating in an anti-Israel campus camp that ended earlier this month.
The group also included 13 senior students who were banned from attending the ceremony by the school’s highest governing body.
But Kumar said it was evidence that “our free speech and expressions of solidarity have become punishable this semester.”
More than 1,500 students have signed a petition against the sanctions, and about 500 faculty and staff members have also spoken out in opposition, she said.
“This is about civil rights and upholding democratic principles,” she continued. “Students have spoken out. Faculty have spoken out. Harvard, can you hear us?”
According to The Daily Beast, Kumar received cheers and a standing ovation from the audience, which included faculty members.
Harvard University interim president Alan Garber was booed at the start of the ceremony when he referenced the protests that have disrupted the campus.
“As the ceremony progresses, some of us may feel free to express ourselves in a way that draws attention to events that are happening in the larger world,” Garber said.
“It is their right to do so … but it is their responsibility to do so with our community and with this opportunity in mind.”
Harvard’s Board of Trustees said all 13 had been found to have violated university rules by their actions during the encampment protests.
“In reaching this decision, we note that Harvard’s Student Handbook explicitly provides that students with poor academic performance are ineligible to receive a degree,” the Harvard Board of Trustees said in a statement.
Harvard University said in a statement on Wednesday that it plans to award degrees to 1,539 of its students. The university said it would expedite the awarding of degrees to the 13 who were excluded on Thursday if they successfully appeal.
“We understand that not being able to graduate is significant for students and their families,” the statement said.
