Commencement ceremonies at several local universities have undergone a post-Oct. 7 overhaul, and some students say their free speech rights are being suppressed.
There will be no live student speakers at CUNY School of Law or at NYU's school-specific ceremonies after former students gave speeches that were fiercely critical of Israel. The restrictions have prompted an ongoing lawsuit brought by CUNY law students who allege violations of their First Amendment rights. Students held a protest outside CUNY Law in Long Island City, Queens, on Wednesday.
“We have our voice taken away in what's supposed to be our biggest moment,” said Josiah Ramesar, CUNY Law’s student government president.
NYU, meanwhile, has shifted to pre-taped remarks from students at individual program ceremonies, after a graduate from NYU’s Gallatin School invoked “atrocities” and “genocide” in Gaza during his speech last year.
University officials said the speech was not approved and prompted them to withhold the graduate’s diploma.
NYU spokesperson Wiley Norvell said there will still be student speakers at the university-wide commencement at Yankee Stadium this year, while filmed remarks and sizzle reels at school-level ceremonies “will contribute to making these events inclusive, celebratory and engaging for every person attending."
“Graduation is a special rite of passage, and we feel enormous responsibility to our students and their families,” Norvell said. “The speakers we invite to ceremonies are there to speak for everyone, not only themselves.”
The fight over commencement speakers is just one of the battles roiling higher education two years after pro-Palestinian protests upended academic life. The Trump administration has sought to slash funding for research amid allegations of antisemitism on campuses around the country. Universities have rolled out changes to protest rules, student governance, and campus access.
Columbia University, which was at the center of the pro-Palestinian student movement, cancelled its university-wide commencement altogether in 2024.
When commencement returned to the campus last spring, Columbia’s interim president faced boos and there were demonstrations outside the university’s gates. Students and staff said they were angry about the administration’s decisions to call in police to break up recent protests and negotiate with the Trump administration over withheld funds.
NYU's commencement at Yankee Stadium will feature student speakers. But school-level ceremonies face restrictions.
Columbia officials said there will not be a student speaker at the university’s main commencement, as was the case in the years before Oct. 7. Smaller ceremonies for specific programs or schools may feature student speakers, officials said.
Columbia’s student newspaper, Columbia Daily Spectator, reported that the university has decided to split its commencement into two, one for undergraduates and one for graduates, but reversed a decision to relocate the ceremonies to the athletic complex from the outdoor quad.
CUNY Law's Communications Director Elise Hanks said the school remains “dedicated to providing space for open dialogue, academic freedom, and free speech.”
She noted that students will speak at other celebratory events, including an awards night.
“We look forward to providing a memorable commencement experience for our graduating students and their loved ones,” she said.
CUNY will have student speakers at most of its other schools’ commencement ceremonies, officials said.
The changes to CUNY Law’s commencement come after student speakers delivered scathing critiques of Israel.
In 2022, students at the law school elected pro-Palestinian activist Nerdeen Kiswani as a speaker. She urged her classmates to fight oppression “in the face of the racist and fascist ICE, police, and prison forces that terrorize Black and brown communities,” and criticized a trip to Israel by CUNY leaders.
In 2023, CUNY Law grads elected Fatimah Mousa Mohammed as commencement speaker. In her remarks, she criticized “Israeli settler colonialism" and the “fascist NYPD.” CUNY’s president and board described her remarks as “hate speech.”
Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was then an assemblymember, disputed that characterization. City Hall did not respond to a request for comment on CUNY Law’s decision to nix live speakers.
Both Kiswani and Mohammed have said they have faced death threats. A New Jersey man was arrested in March for allegedly plotting to firebomb Kiswani’s home.
At the rally outside the law school Wednesday, a group of students chanted “Free Palestine” and held up a banner saying “The more you try to silence us, the louder we will be.”
Yusha Abdul Hakim, who will be graduating at the law school’s May 21 commencement, said CUNY’s decision not to allow a speaker is particularly "hypocritical" for a school where students are taught to defend constitutional rights. “ This is our full-time job doing research, looking at the news … and we're being told, you don't know what you're talking about,” he said.
