Walk-out at Harvard College graduation as pro-Palestine protesters barred from attending

By Esra Tekin

ISTANBUL (AA) - Students staged a walkout at Harvard College's graduation to protest the exclusion of 13 of their peers from the ceremony for being involved in pro-Palestine protests.

Harvard announced on Wednesday that one of its two governing boards had overturned the faculty members' decision to reinstate the 13 student protesters who were initially excluded from the commencement ceremony.

The walkout, which occurred just before 11 a.m., saw participants chanting slogans like "Let them walk" for about 10 minutes, NBC reported.

"As our ceremony proceeds, some among us may choose to take the liberty of expressing themselves to draw attention to events unfolding in the wider world," Interim President Alan M. Garber said, according to Harvard Public Affairs and Communications.

"It is their right to do so,” he added.

Some protesters were disappointed because they believed Harvard had agreed to allow the students to graduate, based on discussions with the Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine Coalition, NBC Boston reported.

A Harvard spokesperson later confirmed that "several hundred" people participated in the walkout.

Meanwhile, at UCLA, pro-Palestinian protesters returned to campus, drawing attention from administrators and the Los Angeles police.

In late April, a confrontation between a mob and pro-Palestinian protesters at UCLA led to over 200 arrests after police intervened.​​​​​​​