The graduation ceremony at Harvard University, held amid a full-scale confrontation with the Donald Trump administration, was filled with expressions of resistance and symbols of solidarity with foreign students.

On the 29th (local time), graduates cheer at the 374th commencement ceremony of Harvard University held at Harvard Yard in Cambridge, Massachusetts. /Courtesy of Reuters.

Harvard University held its 374th graduation ceremony on the 29th (local time) at its campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with approximately 9,000 graduates in attendance.

Graduates, wearing caps and gowns, gathered at the central square of the campus, adorning their chests and hats with white flowers to show solidarity and support for foreign students. They attached stickers with phrases criticizing the Trump administration's attempts to block foreign student enrollment, including 'Harvard without international students is not Harvard.' Some professors also joined the students' resistance by wearing symbolic items.

Harvard University President Alan Garber receives a warm welcome from students. /Courtesy of AP.

When Harvard President Alan Garber took the podium to deliver the graduation speech and said, 'Welcome,' the graduates responded with a long standing ovation. The applause was so loud that the president momentarily lost his words.

In his speech, Garber said, 'Class of 2025, whether you came from nearby, from all over the country, or from all corners of the globe, you must be ready to expand your horizons and change your thinking in the process.' Graduates echoed Garber's remark about 'coming from all over the globe' with another prolonged standing ovation.

The special speaker at the graduation ceremony that day was Abraham Verghese, a physician specializing in infectious diseases and a bestselling author of novels such as 'The Tears of the Cried', who is an immigrant of Indian descent from Ethiopia. He noted that he is also an immigrant and emphasized that his presence on the Harvard graduation stage demonstrates the greatness of America.

Verghese stated that while Harvard graduates are certainly qualified to hear from stars or Nobel Prize winners, 'In the current situation where legal immigrants and other legal residents, many foreign students, are unfairly detained and worried about deportation, it may be more appropriate to listen to someone like me.'

On the 29th (local time), ahead of the start of the 374th commencement ceremony at Harvard University in Cambridge, a graduate places a white flower on their cap in support of international students. /Courtesy of EPA.

In the remarks from graduates that day, voices continued to advocate for the protection of academic freedom against government pressure. Graduate speaker Thor Ryman stated, 'We are leaving a campus that is very different from the one we entered. Harvard stands at the center of the national struggle surrounding higher education in the United States,' emphasizing the defense of Harvard's motto, 'Veritas.'

Harvard University has been in conflict with the Trump administration after becoming the first university in the U.S. to reject demands for changes to campus policies aimed at eradicating anti-Semitism. President Garber, who is Jewish, refused to accept the government's proposals, stating they violate academic freedom, and the Trump administration subsequently intensified tensions by attempting to block foreign student enrollment following the suspension of federal funding.

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