May 29 was a big day for Harvard University — and not just because the school’s lawyers faced down President Donald Trump’s administration in a hearing about the school’s ability to continue enrolling international students after the Department of Homeland Security attempted to ban the practice. It was also Harvard’s 2025 commencement, which brought together students, faculty, and families to celebrate the occasion. And while the ceremony shone the spotlight on the students’ accomplishments, the ongoing legal battle was impossible to ignore.
ICYMI: Harvard is currently at odds with the current presidential administration, as Trump and his allies have been working to get the university to fall in line with its demands for institutions of higher education. Most recently, on May 22, the Department of Homeland Security attempted to end Harvard’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP), which is what allows the school to admit students from outside the United States. Harvard fought back against this, which is what led to the May 29 hearing. During the hearing, a judge upheld a block against the government’s order, thus allowing Harvard to continue enrolling international students — a win, if only a temporary one, for the university.
This decision, which was handed down during Harvard’s graduation ceremony, added to the vibes of unity and celebration already present at the event. Notably, Harvard’s commencement speakers spoke directly about uplifting students (and particularly international students) amid the ongoing disputes.
Harvard’s President, Alan Garber, kicked this off when he took the stage to a standing ovation and a message of welcome to all students, including “students from around the world, just as it should be,” a subtle yet clear nod to his school’s clash with Trump.
The ceremony’s main commencement speaker, author, infectious disease physician, and Stanford professor Dr. Abraham Verghese, spoke even more directly, calling out the “unprecedented moment for Harvard University in this institution’s almost four-century existence.” He went on to say, “When legal immigrants and others who are lawfully in this country, including so many of your international students, worry about being wrongly detained and even deported, perhaps it’s fitting that you hear from an immigrant like me.” He then evoked Trump’s own turn of phrase, saying, “Part of what makes America great — if I may use that phrase — is that it allows an immigrant like me to blossom here, just as generations of other immigrants and their children have flourished and contributed in every walk of life, working to keep America great. The greatness of America, the greatness of Harvard, is reflected in the fact that someone like me could be invited to speak to you.”
Student speaker Yurong “Luanna” Jiang also spoke about the beauty and necessity of diversity. “We’re starting to believe those who think differently, vote differently or pray differently, whether they are across the ocean or sitting right next to us, are not just wrong; we mistakenly see them as evil,” she said. “But it doesn’t have to be this way.”
Another student speaker, Thor Reimann, referenced Harvard’s motto, “Veritas,” which is Latin for “Truth,” saying, “Our university is certainly imperfect, but I am proud to stand alongside our graduating class, our faculty, and our president with the shared conviction that this ongoing project of ‘Veritas’ is one worth defending.”
Earlier in the week, speakers at other Harvard graduation events also referenced the school’s fight to keep its international students. During a May 28 ceremony, former NBA basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar praised the school for its actions. “After seeing so many towering billionaires, media moguls, law firms, politicians, and other universities bend their knee to an administration that is systematically strip mining the U.S. Constitution, it is inspiring to me to see Harvard University take a stand for freedom,” he said.
All of this said, Harvard’s battle with the Trump Administration is far from over. Although the judge ruled in favor of the university in the May 29 hearing, it is only a temporary block on the ban, which just means that international students can continue attending Harvard while the school and the U.S. government continue to litigate the issue.
But despite whatever is to come from this, graduates were reminded on their special day that it was still, in fact, their special day, not to be overshadowed by issues out of their control. “No recent events can diminish what each of you has accomplished here, graduates,” Verghese told the audience. “I also want you to know you have the admiration and the good wishes of so many beyond Harvard, more people than you realize.”