Harvard DEI Office Provides Graduation Ceremony for Underrepresented Students

Harvard University’s Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging will host separate commencements for graduates from marginalized and underrepresented communities.

These events have faced criticism in the past for excluding specific groups like Jewish and white students. Harvard has been under scrutiny for acts of antisemitism on campus amid the Israel-Gaza war, as reported by the National Review.

The events are characterized on Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences page as “student-led, staff-supported events that recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of graduates from marginalized and underrepresented communities.”

These celebrations include various groups such as “Disability Celebration,” “Global Indigenous Celebration,” “Asian American, Pacific Islander, Desi-American (APIDA) Celebration,” “First Generation-Low Income Celebration,” “Jewish Celebration,” “Latinx Celebration,” “Lavender Celebration,” “Black Celebration,” “Veterans Celebration,” and “Arab Celebration.”

Harvard will also host a central commencement ceremony for all students, inclusive of backgrounds, according to the National Review.

Gabriel Kelvin, a Harvard Kennedy School student, expressed concerns about the discriminatory nature of these celebrations.

Representative Virginia Foxx from North Carolina criticized Harvard for further dividing its student body with these identity-based ceremonies, instead of uniting students during graduation.