In a vestige of past injustices that most thought were over, Harvard University is holding segregated graduation ceremonies for its latest graduating class.
National Review reported that the Class of 2024 may sign up for separate commencements based on their race, religion, gender and socio-economic class. And all in the name of diversity.
Harvard is often referred to as the most prestigious institution of higher learning in the U.S. Its graduation ceremonies will feature a Black celebration, an Arab celebration, a lavender celebration for LGBT students along with a first-generation low-income celebration.
This parade of segregated events is the result of efforts by Harvard’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) program. They are dubbed “affinity celebrations.”
There are several others, including events for the disabled, Jewish students, “Latinx” students and for veterans. For good measure, there will be a combined commencement ceremony to which all students are invited.
The school not surprisingly took a rather low-key approach to publicizing its segregated ceremonies. The only public record of the schedule is found on the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences page, and even this did not list specific events or groups supporting them.
Harvard is providing students who are uncomfortable around Jews segregated graduation ceremonies? Is it legal to segregate ceremonies based on race, religion, or sexuality? https://t.co/R4oq5khQsF pic.twitter.com/Dvbk6XlWrw
— @amuse (@amuse) April 5, 2024
Instead, it only depicted them as “student-led, staff-supported events that recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of graduates from marginalized and underrepresented communities.”
Controversy emerged last year when the Manhattan Institute’s Christopher Rufo publicized the segregated Harvard schedule online. He noted that the Ivy League school deleted the listing of events from its website while observing that there were no occasions for White or Jewish students.
The elite school later added an occasion for its Jewish population. However, the university became a hotbed for anti-Israel activism in the aftermath of the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack on the Middle Eastern nation.
One student, Shabbos Kestenbaum of the Harvard Divinity School, told a House committee in February that dividing Jewish students into a separate celebration is indicative of antisemitism on campus.
Kestenbaum explained, “Rather than acknowledge the harmful ways in which Harvard DEI has contributed to campus anti-semitism, the university further marginalizes individuals into groups of race, ethnicity and religion.”
The student added, “Harvard DEI is simply out of control.”
