Harvard Braces for Graduation Protests

Hundreds of students walked out of Harvard University’s commencement ceremony on Thursday morning as degrees were conferred, while hundreds chanted “Let them walk!”, a reference to the 13 student protesters who were not allowed to graduate after a vote Wednesday by the Harvard Corporation, the university’s governing body.

The walkout was a jarring reminder of continuing unrest on the Cambridge campus, on a day when more than 9,000 graduates and their families were gathered in Harvard Yard for celebration and reflection.

At the start of the ceremony, the university’s interim president, Alan Garber — loudly booed by some in the crowd — acknowledged the turmoil, and the possibility that “some among us may choose to take the liberty of expressing themselves to draw attention to events unfolding in the wider world.”

“This moment of joy coincides with moments of fear and dread, grief and anger, suffering and pain,” he said. “Elsewhere, people are experiencing the worst days of their lives.” He asked the crowd to observe a minute of silence.

Student speakers at the ceremony strongly criticized the Harvard Corporation for its vote on Wednesday to bar 13 undergraduate protesters from receiving their degrees in the wake of campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war. The move was seen by the students and their faculty supporters as a violation of an agreement made between administrators and students to clear their encampment from Harvard Yard.

The university, which has not provided details of the students’ disciplinary violations, has denied having made any promises about the outcome of the discipline proceedings.

“This semester, our freedom of speech and expressions of solidarity became punishable, leaving our graduation uncertain,” student speaker Shruthi Kumar said before acknowledging the 13 students who had been barred from graduating.

“Harvard, do you hear us?” she asked, to thunderous applause.

Throughout the morning commencement ceremony — the 373rd held by the university — Harvard aimed to minimize distractions from its traditional program, with music, prayer and speeches in Latin. Crimson banners bedecked the historic yard, which had remained closed to the public for 20 days after pro-Palestinian protesters established an encampment there on April 24. The tents were cleared last week, after the students announced on May 14 that they had reached an agreement with university leaders.

From the start, the two sides viewed the terms of the agreement differently. Students with the protest group, Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine, known as HOOP, suggested that Harvard had made concessions in response to their demands, while the university said it had merely agreed to open a dialogue with the protesters. Students said at the time that Harvard was “backing down” on disciplinary measures; Dr. Garber said that individual schools would make those decisions.

This is a developing story. Check back for further updates.