Harvard University will soon hold segregated graduation ceremonies directed by the school’s Office for Equity, Diversion, Inclusion and Belonging.
The National Review reported that Harvard plans to hold a “Disability Celebration,” a “Global Indigenous Celebration” and an “Asian American, Pacific Islander, Desi-American (APIDA) Celebration,” among several others.
Graduates could register for such ceremonies, which include a Black and Arab celebration, according to One America News (OAN). The school will host a so-called lavender celebration for students who are a part of the LGBT community.
SO MUCH FOR DEI! DO THE WHITE GRADUATES GET A SEPARATE CEREMONY, TOO? Asking for a friend…
Harvard University to Offer Segregated Graduation Ceremonies Based on Race, Class, Sexualityhttps://t.co/HcVP6d6ajV
— Larry Elder (@larryelder) April 4, 2024
Given Harvard’s radical diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, one student at the university said such measures are “simply out of control,” claiming that instead of acknowledging antisemitism on campus, the school is further marginalizing students.
“Rather than acknowledge the harmful ways in which Harvard DEI has contributed to campus antisemitism, the university further marginalizes individuals into groups of race, ethnicity, and religion,” Harvard Divinity School student Shabbos Kestenbaum said during a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing in February 2024.
A Harvard student shared a note on a sign-up form with the National Review, informing registrants that the “Celebration Recognizing Arab Graduates, the Celebration Recognizing Jewish Graduates, and the Celebration Recognizing Veteran Graduates are being planned in collaboration with student groups and campus partners.”
The celebrations are only mentioned on Harvard’s website, specifically on the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences’ page. They are described as “student-led, staff-supported events that recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of graduates from marginalized and underrepresented communities.”
Harvard’s decision to categorize its graduation ceremonies by one’s ethnicity or religion comes as the school faces a nearly 20% reduction in admissions and applications, given the rise in antisemitism on campus.
While speaking before the House Education and Workforce Committee, Kestenbaum said that examples of antisemitism at Harvard included personal threats, blood libels and arguments that “too many damn Jews run this country.” In one instance, an employee at Harvard posted a video on social media with a machete and a picture of Kestenbaum.
Upon contacting the school’s DEI office, administrators told Kestenbaum that everything he has experienced “falls outside their purview.”
Harvard Law School professor Randall L. Kennedy wrote in an op-ed in the Harvard Crimson that DEI ideology is rampant in the school’s culture that the university requires applicants for professorship positions to submit descriptions of their “orientation toward diversity, equity, and inclusion practices.”
