2025 Graduation Protests for Palestine

Edgar Lee

In the face of continued repression carried out jointly by the Trump administration and university administrations, students and faculty have used their graduation ceremonies across the country as another battleground to demonstrate for a free Palestine, with some resulting in arrests and disciplinary action.

At the Hunter College’s Silberman School of Social Work ceremony in Manhattan, students turned the event into a massive protest as the school’s dean began her speech. Students throughout the entire auditorium chanted loudly in defense of Palestine and the need for continued struggle while about a dozen protesters took over the stage with banners. One banner read, “We Honor the Martyrs” in reference to the Palestinians murdered by the US-Israel genocide. Another banner read, “If I Must Die / You Must Live / To Tell My Story”, the opening lines of a poem by the Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer. Alareer was killed by Israel along with his family in Gaza in December 2023, two months into the escalated genocide.

At the City University of New York’s (CUNY) May 22 law school graduation, graduates walked out in solidarity with Palestine. One stated that they were walking out “in protest of CUNY law’s suppression of free speech and the CUNY system’s investments in Israeli settler-colonialism and genocide.” Another demonstration was held during the May 30 graduation at the City College of New York, where president Vincent Boudreau’s speech was disrupted. Several were arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. Eight Palestine solidarity activists known as the “CUNY 8” are still facing felony charges for their alleged participation in pro-Palestine demonstrations at CCNY in April 2024.

At George Washington University’s (GWU) May 17 ceremony in Washington DC, student Cecilia Culver said in a speech, “I am ashamed to know my tuition is being used to fund this genocide… I call upon the class of 2025 to withhold donations and continue advocating for disclosure and divestment.” In response, GWU banned her from campus and all university-sponsored events.

Other demonstrations took place at GWU, with students wearing keffiyehs and one holding a sign that read “Israel bombs, GW pays.”

New York University (NYU) student Logan Rozos stated during his May 14 graduation speech, “My moral and political commitments guide me to say that the only appropriate thing to say in this time and to a group this large is a recognition of the atrocities currently happening in Palestine.” He added that “the genocide currently occurring is supported politically and militarily by the United States, is paid for by our tax dollars…”

In response, NYU withheld his diploma, citing policies against expressing “personal and one-sided political views” and “[lying] about the speech he was going to deliver.” Despite what they imply, personal opinions are part-and-parcel of any graduation speech, even if the university administration disagrees with them.

NYU’s open support of the Zionist entity has been clear for a long time. In August 2024, for example, the word “Zionist” was added as an example of discriminatory speech to its student conduct guidelines.

At the May 15 graduation ceremony, president Linda Mills was loudly booed during her speech, with dozens of graduates walking out. At the law school ceremony, over 60 students demonstrated for Palestine, holding banners with slogans such as “NYU funds genocide” and “NYU divest.”

See our coverage of Columbia University’s graduation disruptions here.

Image: CUNY law graduates demonstrating after walking out of their graduation ceremony, May 22. Credit: People’s Dispatch.

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