Harvard President Alan Garber used his school's 2025 commencement on Thursday to take a swipe at President Donald Trump.
Garber congratulated the students from "across, the country, across the street, and around the world" and then repeated "from around the world" for emphasis, adding, "just as it should be."
Students stood and cheered, according to reports.
Trump's Department of Homeland Security and State Department are seeking to pause foreign student visas under a new policy intended to vet international students for Harvard's alleged bias against conservatives and of fostering antisemitism.
But U.S. District Judge Allison Burroughs, nominated by former President Barack Obama, said Thursday she will order the HHS and State Department to not make any changes to Harvard's visa program indefinitely.
"I want to maintain the status quo," she said.
Foreign students comprise nearly 30% of the student body at Harvard.
Burroughs instructed Harvard's lawyers and attorney from the U.S. Department of Justice to craft an agreement to cease the revocation of the student visa program.
"It doesn't need to be draconian, but I want to make sure it's worded in such a way that nothing changes," she said.
Over the past week, Garber has reaffirmed his condemnation of the Trump administration's withholding of research grants and blocking international students while urging his fellow college presidents to "stand firm" against the pressure coming from the federal government.
Garber acknowledged that Harvard needs to do better at fostering a community that embraces diverse viewpoints over racial diversity.
"The administration and others have said conservatives are too few on campus and their views are not welcome. In so far as that's true, that's a problem we really need to address," he told NPR last week.
Yet he but did not feel that the Trump administration's heavy-handed approach would lead to anything productive.
Garber told the Harvard community at the graduating ceremony it needs to "expand our thinking and change our minds in the process," and said his "hope is that you stay comfortable being uncomfortable."
James Morley III ✉
James Morley III is a writer with more than two decades of experience in entertainment, travel, technology, and science and nature.
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