Harvard University's Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging will hold alternative commencements for graduates from "marginalized and underrepresented communities."
The events have in the past been criticized as Jewish and white students were the only two groups without specific events and as the Ivy League school has come under intense scrutiny over acts of antisemitism on campus amid the Israel-Gaza war, reported the National Review.
The events are described 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."
They include: a "Disability Celebration," a "Global Indigenous Celebration," an "Asian American, Pacific Islander, Desi-American Celebration," a "First Generation-Low Income Celebration," a "Jewish Celebration," a "Latinx Celebration," a "Lavender Celebration" — which refers to LGBT students — a "Black Celebration," a "Veterans Celebration," and an "Arab Celebration."
Harvard will also hold a central commencement ceremony for students of all backgrounds, according to the National Review.
Gabriel Kelvin, a student at the Harvard Kennedy School, told the National Review the celebrations were discriminatory.
"If I were an American going to school overseas, at a school that did not speak my native language and there were a few other American students, I would probably like to get together and celebrate my graduation with my fellow American students," Kelvin said. "When it gets to identity-based groups, that's where I get a little confused — especially when you're segregating groups along racial lines.
"If it's led and initiated by what's perceived as the majority, it's discriminatory, whereas if it's organized and initiated by the minority group, it's considered 'affirmative' and 'affinity-based' and all those nice buzzwords."
"There's no secret that Harvard has an extraordinarily liberal student body, and I am a hundred percent confident that ideology is going to permeate through every single aspect of those ceremonies," he told National Review. "It's kind of frustrating that you'll get a similar narrative at each one of those and then the graduation ceremony itself."
Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., told the news outlet graduation ceremonies "should unite students" and that Harvard instead, "is dividing its student body even further by playing into identity politics and radical DEI ideologies."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.