Hundreds stage pro-Palestinian walkout at Harvard graduation

More than 1,000 students and faculty interrupted the pomp and circumstance of Harvard’s Thursday graduation with a noisy exit mid-ceremony, according to The Harvard Crimson. Footage shows students and faculty in full academic regalia filing down the aisle while waving Palestinian flags and beckoning others to join in. “Does this mean we get better seats?” asked one student staying to receive a diploma. Protesters marched to what appears to be a church, where a student activist group mounted a so-called substitute graduation celebration called the “people’s commencement.”

What was being chanted? Protesters chanted, “Let them walk,” referring to the 13 students who lost their privilege to graduate after violating school policy and participating in a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus. The faculty found several students no longer in good academic standing, which makes them ineligible to receive diplomas, the school wrote. Harvard’s administrative board suspended five students and placed more than 20 on probation last week for their participation in the protest encampment last month.

Dig deeper: Read my report in WORLD Magazine about the student group responsible for launching pro-Palestinian protests across the United States.