Graduating Northwestern Students Walk Out Of Commencement In Protest

CHICAGO — Several dozens of members of Northwestern University's graduating class of 2024 walked out of their commencement ceremony Sunday at the United Center to protest the university's ties to Israel and mourn Palestinians killed in Gaza.

Kathryn Hahn, an actress known for her roles in "WandaVision,""Glass Onion" and "Step Brothers" and a 1995 Northwestern alum, delivered the commencement address to the thousands of recent graduates — many of whom finished high school and started college remotely due to restrictions associated with the coronavirus pandemic.

"You are a golden class. You are a very, very special class. In case you blacked out, a lot of you missed your own high school graduations. You picked your colleges sight unseen — good choice, by the way — and then you spent your freshman year learning on little Zoom schools, maybe in your childhood bedrooms, which sounds bonkers," Hahn said.

"You missed so much freshman smooching. Hope you made up for it. There's so much smooching freshman year. And at the same time, you've been having to navigate this crazy, accelerating landscape of anger and polarity and comments and just staring at your own faces, shouting into the void. I mean, honestly, it's no wonder you cannot sleep," she said.

In her commencement address, Hahn discussed the concept of "both/and" thinking rather than "either/or," where people can feel multiple seemingly contradictory feelings at once.

"So this is what I think: I think that you have already been through so much, personally and historically, that you already hold the 'both/and' if you're awake to it, you understand that the disappointment that gets swirled in with joy and the vice versa," she told the graduates. "You know that nothing is guaranteed and that your lives can be richer for it. And while it is true that at this very moment, yes, there is unimaginable pain and suffering in this world, it is also true that you and your class are going through something together that is once in a lifetime and worthy of celebration."

The arena was filled to close to its capacity of more than 23,000, and more than 5,000 people watched a livestream of the event, according to university officials, who had announced extensive security measures in anticipation of potential disruptions.

Administrators banned artificial noisemakers, banners, flags, flyers, laser products and other items that could interfere with the ceremony. Security staff and magnetometers were positioned at all event entrances, and attendees were required to unzip their robes while proceeding through security.

“While the University supports freedom of expression, graduation ceremonies are not the time nor place for disruptive demonstrations,” Northwestern Student Affairs VP Susan Davis and Provost Kathleen Hagerty announced last week. “The University has designated a free speech area outside each venue and encourages anyone who wishes to engage in expressive activity to do so there. Any such activity inside the venue may not disrupt the ceremony or prevent others from enjoying it.”

During a speech by Northwestern board chair Peter Barris, several dozens recent graduates walked out of the arena. Once outside, they held Palestinian flags and chanted that, "From the river to the sea, Palestinian is almost free."

“There are twice as many murdered Palestinians as there are seats in the United Center. And Northwestern refuses to cut ties with genocide," Jordan Muhammad, a student organizer with Students for Justice in Palestine said in a statement. "While we sit here, Israel is destroying the dream of education, much less graduating, for young people in Palestine and we refuse to allow our university’s complicity to go unchecked."

Outside the United Center, the protesting graduates and their supporters held a ceremony to honor those killed in Gaza. Graduates read out an account of a person who had died and affixed a rose and piece of paper with the person's name and story to a banner that said, “No Graduation In Gaza, For The Martyrs Of Palestine.”

“We say this as we remember the memory of those who have been killed in this genocide,” said Rabbi Brant Rosen, of Tzedek Chicago, as he led a Jewish prayer for those who have died, the Daily Northwestern reported. “We are also affirming the goodness of our solidarity with one another and the goodness of the vision of the world we are creating together.”

According to Gazan health officials, who do not differentiate between civilians and combatants, more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas and other militants crossed into Israel, took about 250 hostages and killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians.

For a few minutes, the approximately 50 graduates who walked out and other pro-Palestinian demonstrators were confronted by a small group of counterprotestors, who shouted that their speeches were antisemitic, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

This year's graduation takes place amid ongoing controversies involving Northwestern University and the conflict in the Middle East.

University President Michael Schill has been under scrutiny for his handling of a pro-Palestinian on-campus tent encampment in April, with the chair of a congressional committee last week raising the stakes.

Virginia Foxx, the North Carolina Republican who heads the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee, has accused university officials of obstructing its investigation into on-campus antisemitism.

Foxx gave Schill and Barris a June 17 deadline to turn over requested records and information, threatening to subpoena university officials if they refuse to do so voluntarily.

Earlier:

• Northwestern 'Obstructed' House Committee, Threatened With Subpoena
• Schill On The Hill: Northwestern President Grilled By Congressional Republicans
• Jewish Grad Student Alleges Antisemitism In Latest Class Action Against Northwestern
• Northwestern President Faces Resignation Calls, Class Action Lawsuit From Jewish Students
• Northwestern Pro-Palestinian Protestors Claim 'Historic' Victory In Deal To End Encampment