A Harvard University commencement speaker went dramatically off script to blast the Ivy League school for barring a handful of those involved in a disruptive anti-Israeli encampment — before more than 1,000 students also staged a walkout.
Shruthi Kumar, the Harvard senior selected to deliver the English address Thursday, pulled out a piece of paper containing controversial remarks hidden up the sleeve of her gown and took aim at university leaders over the decision to deny more than a dozen students their diplomas.
“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,” Kumar told the crowd, according to a video posted by Harvard.
“I am deeply disappointed by the intolerance for freedom of speech and their right to civil disobedience on campus,” she said of the protests, which famously replaced the American flag with a Palestinian one.
More than 1,000 people then staged a walkout to decry the disqualification of the 13 students, with many chanting “let them walk,” The Harvard Crimson reports. Others held up signs, including a large banner saying “Stop the genocide.”
Harvard last week suspended five students and sanctioned more than 20 others for taking part in an anti-Israel campus encampment, which ended earlier this month. The group included the 13 seniors banned by the school’s highest governing body from walking at the ceremony.
Kumar, however, called it proof that “this semester our freedom of speech and our expressions of solidarity became punishable.”
More than 1,500 students had petitioned against the sanctions, with nearly 500 staff and faculty also speaking up against them, she said.
“This is about civil rights and upholding democratic principles,” she continued. “The students have spoken. The faculty have spoken. Harvard, do you hear us?”
Kumar received cheers and a standing ovation from the crowd, including some of the faculty, The Daily Beast reports.
Interim Harvard President Alan Garber was booed at the start of the ceremony when he referenced the protests that brought chaos to campus.
“As our ceremony proceeds, some among us may choose to take the liberty of expressing themselves to draw attention to events unfolding in the wider world,” Garber said.
“It is their right to do so … But it is their responsibility to do so with our community — and this occasion — in mind.”
Harvard’s governing board said that each of the 13 were found to have violated the university’s policies by their conduct during the encampment protest.
“In coming to this determination, we note that the express provisions of the Harvard College Student Handbook state that students who are not in good standing are not eligible for degrees,” the Harvard Corporation said in a written statement.
In its statement Wednesday, Harvard said it planned to confer 1,539 degrees to Harvard College students. The school said it would fast-track degrees for the 13 excluded Thursday if they mount successful appeals.
“We understand that the inability to graduate is consequential for students and their families,” it said.
