A Harvard student slammed her university for subjective action towards 13 students being denied their graduation due to their pro-Palestine stand.
“As I stand here today, I must take a moment to recognize my peers—the 13 undergraduates in the class of 2024 who will not graduate today,” Shruthi Kumar, an Indian American from Nebraska said.
Thirteen students have been barred by Harvard’s governing against their graduation even as the university’s faculty of arts and sciences voted for them to have their degrees conferred.
“The students have spoken. The faculty have spoken,” Kumar said amongst a standing ovation. Shruthi asked: “Harvard, do you hear us?”
“We are in a moment of intense division and disagreement in our community over the events in Gaza. I see pain, anxiety and unrest across campus. But, it’s now in a moment like this that the power of not knowing becomes critical,” said the Harvard student.
Her stance comes at a time when Israel began bombing refugee camps in Rafah as well, after months of bombing Gaza since October last year (ever since Hamas launched an attack October 7), which many have termed as genocide. The killings in Palestine have also led to several protests across American universities, with students camping out in the open and demanding the US government to stop supporting Israel.
“Maybe, we don’t know what it’s like to be ethnically targeted. Maybe, we don’t know what it’s like to come face to face with violence and death. But, we don’t have to know. Solidarity is not dependent on what we know. Because, not knowing is an ethical stance,” she added.
After her speech, over 1000 Harvard students walked out in solidarity with the 13 students.
