George Washington U. Student Banned Over Anti-Israel Remarks at Graduation Speech
“the speaker submitted and recited in rehearsal very different remarks than those she delivered at the ceremony”
The student lied about what she was going to say in the speech. Something very similar just happened at NYU.
The Guardian reports:
George Washington University student banned after pro-Palestinian graduation speech
A graduation speech at George Washington University has resulted in the graduate being banned from the campus after she used the platform to criticize the university’s ties to Israel and express support for Palestinians.
During Saturday’s commencement for the Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, part of GWU in Washington, DC, graduating senior Cecilia Culver delivered remarks to the graduating class of nearly 750.
Culver condemned the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza, criticized GWU’s connections to Israel, and urged the audience to withhold donations from the college and push for financial transparency, as well as for the college to divest from Israeli-linked companies.
“I am ashamed to know my tuition [fee] is being used to fund this genocide,” Culver said from the stage. “I call upon the class of 2025 to withhold donations and continue advocating for disclosure and divestment.”
University officials later said Culver had not followed her pre-approved remarks. They later announced she would be barred from campus and university-sponsored events.
“The speaker’s conduct during Saturday’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences celebration event was inappropriate and dishonest: the speaker submitted and recited in rehearsal very different remarks than those she delivered at the ceremony,” the school said in a statement. “The speaker has been barred from all GW’s campuses and sponsored events elsewhere.”
GWU also issued an apology, saying the speech had disrupted what was meant to be a celebratory occasion.
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Comments
Here’s a good article about this:
https://www.jta.org/2025/05/21/united-states/george-washington-u-bans-student-commencement-speaker-from-campus-after-speech-calling-to-divest-from-israel
“Culver had to take frequent breaks for sustained applause she received during her speech, delivered at GWU’s largest graduation ceremony.”
GW would be ashamed of GWU.
Banning here is meaningless if she still ends up in graduate school or with a high paying job.
Did they hand her a diploma?
doesn’t matter. a diploma is a piece of matter. only matters if they rescind her graduation and even then that might not matter if she just traipses onto her next planned stage in life.
How about this don’t select nut job pro Palestinian students as the speaker ? Quite possibly they’ll make it all about hating on Jews , shocking I know , but these people have one playbook and that’s blame the Jews. Maybe select a speaker based on their academic contributions instead of their social justice credentials and you won’t hear hate rants at graduation.
They could have cut her mic. That they did not tells me the administration was trying to have it both ways: publicly “punish” the student, but secretly celebrate her message.
Is she ashamed enough to divest herself from the GWU diploma she (and likely others) paid for and/or earned?
I call upon Ms. Culver to live out her so-called principles, rejecting her diploma and any advantage her erstwhile support of the so-called genocide might provide her in her post-graduation life.