The GW
HATCHET
May 20, 2024 Vol. 121 Iss. 2
AN INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER • SERVING THE GW COMMUNITY SINCE 1904 • ONLINE AT GWHATCHET.COM
Commencement speakers urge graduates to embrace nuance JENNIFER IGBONOBA NEWS EDITOR
TYLER IGLESIAS
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Yahya Aliyu believes that there is nothing more dangerous than a rigid mindset. The master’s of bioengineering and biomedical engineering graduate, said his father, an immigrant from Nigeria, had earned his degree from the Milken Institute School of Public Health on the same stage 25 years ago. As he spoke before GW graduates on the National Mall in his own student address at University Commencement decades later, Aliyu said graduates must rectify universities’ positions as places for intellectual inquiry, free from the “shackles” of ignorance and prejudice. Aliyu said GW’s goal to uplift people with a common dream of furthering humanity and pursuing higher learning DANIEL HEUER | ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR hasn’t changed, but the community has grown more aware University President Ellen Granberg speaks before the Class of 2024 on the National Mall at Commencement. of complexities over time, which has created a reality that is hard to grasp. “We cannot resort to abandoning nuance and painting the world black and white,” Aliyu said during his address on a stage before the Washington Monument. “Such simplifications have yielded innumerable tragedies throughout history, and I need no outside examples.” University Commencement comes more than a week after local police cleared an encampment that demonstrators from across the D.C. region erected in University Yard late last month to call on the University to divest from Israel and protect pro-Palestinian speech. At the ceremony, graduates garnished their graduation gowns with keffiyehs, raised red-painted hands and waved signs with messages condemning officials for their response to the demonstration. GW officials like Board of Trustees Chair Grace Speights and University President Ellen Granberg received choruses of ARWEN CLEMANS | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER boos from the graduates sec- Graduates exit Commencement holding a sign referring to the number of Palestinians who have been killed by Israel in Gaza. tion as they entered the event and throughout consecutive ad- Gaza and officials’ handling of immense sense of pride and ac- group and chanted, “If you don’t the pro-Palestinian demonstra- complishment.” want to be here, go home.” Other dresses. Graduates gathered at the ceremony attendees moved their Aliyu said the allegiances of tions on campus. Officials announced that am- back of the graduate section chairs in front of the protesters the Class of 2024 must rise above plified sound devices and sig- before exiting, chanting “The who were blocking their view of nation, tribe, class and race, and called for a “world perspective” nage, including posters, banners students united will never be the stage. In the aftermath of Granthat develops a society that can and flyers, were not allowed at defeated” and “Admin, adthe Commencement earlier this min, you’re all cowards, we the berg’s address and protesters’ live with its conscience. “The most important revolu- month. Before the ceremony students have the power” as walkout, three community tion we will ever stage is inter- began, officials announced that Granberg congratulated gradu- members received honorary nal,” he said. “We must come to they would not permit disrup- ates and welcomed guests to doctorate degrees of public serthe ceremony. At least 10 Park vice: Vincent Gray, the former embody the change we wish to tions to the event. “Graduating Class of 2024 Police officers were present on mayor of D.C. and the Ward 7 see in this world.” At least 100 students exited — your successes are many 15th Street, when the last group D.C. Councilmember, Jonathan the ceremony during Granberg’s and very,” Granberg said as the of demonstrators met with their Ledecky, a former trustee and address, chanting “walk out for stream of protesters filed out of peers at the protest, and did not Jen Psaki, the keynote speaker Palestine” as they joined stu- the ceremony. “But you’ve all appear to be escorted out by law and the former White House press secretary under President dents who gathered outside the exemplified the very best at the enforcement. One counterprotester, who Joe Biden. National Museum of African George Washington University. American History and Culture As your degrees are conferred appeared to be an attendee at See PSAKI Page 5 to protest against the war in today, I hope you each feel an the ceremony, stood near the
Pro-Palestinian graduates leave ceremony to join protest HANNAH MARR NEWS EDITOR
About 200 pro-Palestinian demonstrators convened outside of Commencement on the National Mall on Sunday morning to protest the war in Gaza and demand GW divests from companies supplying arms to Israel. Students, some of whom were not graduates, gathered on the corner of Constitution Avenue and 15th Street next to the National History of African American History and Culture at about 10:15 a.m. and were joined by at least 100 graduates who walked out of the ceremony during University President Ellen Granberg’s speech at about 11:15 a.m. The graduates held signs that read “Your tuition funds genocide” and “Divest now,” and were joined by demonstrators from other schools like American and Georgetown universities. Just feet away from the ongoing Commencement ceremony, demonstrators chanted at the University and administrators for more than two hours, including statements like, “GW, you’re painted red, 5,000 students dead,” “No commencement graduation as usual, in the face of injustice we won’t be neutral,” and “Students students made us proud, shut graduations down.” Sunday’s protest follows weeks of pro-Palestinian demonstrations on GW’s campus demanding GW divests from companies supplying arms to the Israeli military, including a 13-day encampment in University Yard which led to the arrest of 33 demonstrators, six of whom were GW students. Israel’s military’s offensive in Gaza continued Sunday as Israeli officials conducted an airstrike that killed 27 people in central Gaza, most of whom where women and children. As of Sunday, more than 35,000 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military since Oct. 7. Protesters also heard from more than half a dozen speakers while University officials, graduates and honored guests spoke at Commencement. Demonstrators shared stories about their family members who live in Gaza, including one demonstrator who said they lost their mother and father and have cousins in Gaza who have been displaced. The demonstrator said the encampment at GW showed their cousins that people were advocating for them. The demonstrator said they didn’t know what “B.S.” administrators were telling graduates inside the ceremony about their role as future changemakers but said the title was better suited to demonstrators who walked out of Commencement and protested against GW’s ties to Israel amid in the war in Gaza. See STUDENTS Page 5
Speights backs Granberg’s leadership after weeks of student protest HANNAH MARR NEWS EDITOR
Following weeks of outcry toward the University’s response to student protests on campus, the leader of the Board of Trustees reaffirmed her trust in University President Ellen Granberg at a meeting Friday, who then announced plans to create a website this summer to display publicly available financial documents. Board Chair Grace Speights said she was thankful for Granberg’s leadership during a “profoundly” challenging time in University history. She said she understands there are a range of perspectives and opinions about the events of the “preceding weeks,” adding that she has “great faith” that the GW community will recover from recent on campus tensions. “It will take time to heal, and we are grateful for President Granberg’s leadership over the long road ahead,” Speights said. She did not directly mention the encampment that remained in University Yard for two weeks that called on officials to disclose investments and
divest from companies supplying arms to Israel. After police cleared the encampment, arresting 33 protesters, University officials said they refuse to change their endowment investment strategies, academic partnerships or student conduct processes. Granberg said the website, planned to release in the late summer, is a step toward providing the community with “greater clarity” on the University’s investments and finances and will allow people to send GW finance officials questions about the information. GW currently publicizes the University’s annual financial statements, credit rating agency reviews and endowment reports but does not report how much money GW has invested in outside companies or which companies they are invested in. In the past few weeks, Granberg and trustees have received an enormous amount of pressure from students and faculty about the University’s handling of the encampment protest, matching the backlash toward other university presidents following pro-Palestinian demonstrations on their campuses. The Board of
Trustees chair at Columbia University supported the president following calls for her resignation. At other universities like the University of Pennsylvania, the board chairs resigned alongside their president. Granberg said she conversed with community members over the last few days about how they feel officials broke their trust because they allowed the Metropolitan Police Department to arrest students, while others are upset that the encampment lasted almost two weeks. “In all these cases and on all sides of the event, there’s rebuilding to do, and we’re committed to doing that important work,” Granberg said at the meeting. “I am personally committed to doing that important work.” She said moving forward, the University will continue to protect free speech while outlining limitations to free expression on campus. Granberg and other officials met with student organizers twice after MPD cleared the encampment and said they plan to continue conversations with the student representatives and a “full array” of other
ARWEN CLEMANS | STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Board of Trustees Chair Grace Speights addresses attendees at the Board’s May meeting.
groups impacted by “recent events” in a University release. Granberg said officials will use the framework of the three-part community plan that launched in January to help GW emerge from tensions sparked by recent protests. The plan outlines educational programming for handling University life during times of conflict by fostering productive dialogue,
strengthening partnerships and increasing support for those affected by the war in Gaza. “We’re also taking steps to engage GW’s incredible faculty around ways that we can use their elected expertise to inform and support humanitarian relief efforts in Gaza and in other parts of the world experiencing humanitarian crises,” Granberg said but didn’t
specify what steps. Granberg’s announcement comes after members of the Faculty Senate criticized the absence of faculty involvement in GW’s handling of the encampment last Friday, saying that professors’ relationships with students and expertise in their fields of study could have aided officials in their decisions. See SGA Page 5