An Indian-American student, chosen to deliver an address at a Harvard University graduation ceremony on May 23, went off-script and flayed the university for allegedly punishing her university mates for their activism.
Graduating Shruthi Kumar, the eldest daughter of South Asian immigrants and the first in her family to attend a college in the United States, was one of three students who won the honour to speak at the graduation through an annual contest hosted by the university.
During her speech titled The Power Of Not Knowing, the 22-year-old drew out a piece of paper containing remarks hidden up the sleeve of her crimson gown, reported the BBC.
“As I stand here today, I must take a moment to recognise my peers – the 13 undergraduates in the class of 2024 who will not graduate today,” she said, sharply reprimanding the university leaders. She was referring to the 13 students who were punished for participating in pro-Palestinian protests on campus recently.
“I am deeply disappointed by the intolerance for freedom of speech and their right to civil disobedience on the campus,” she said. “The students have spoken. The faculty have spoken. Harvard, do you hear us?”
A clip of her speech, originally captured in a university recording of the event, has reached millions of views after it made the rounds on social media over the past week.
Ms Shruthi, who grew up in Nebraska alongside cattle ranches and cornfields and can speak Kannada and Tamil fluently, told NBC News she had written and practised the speech over the course of a few months with the help of other students and faculty.
The evening before graduation day, Harvard announced its decision not to confer the degrees of the 13 students “who are not in good standing”, overturning an earlier decision by a faculty body that recommended they be allowed to graduate.
“I knew this was not just, it was not fair, and I needed to say something,” said Ms Shruthi, who graduated with a double major in the history of science and economics.
“I was worried I’d be silenced or my mic would be cut. Thankfully, none of that happened. I’m glad I was allowed the opportunity to say what I needed to. But looking back at the video, it’s clear some of the faculty were not very pleased.”
After her speech, more than 1,000 students staged a walkout in support of the 13 barred students, many waving Palestinian flags or banners, calling for an end to genocide.
