On Matt Bai's column, Graduates speak their minds. Universities freak out. In punishing students who make pro-Palestinian commencement speeches, schools lose their way.

 Matt Bai got this right. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/05/22/higher-education-gaza-universities-graduation/  If you are blocked by the Post paywall, his column may be read here.  As GW's 1969 commencement speaker, my wife and I wrote to the university's president last week making the same point:

 

Dear President Granberg:

 

As alumni of The George Washington University (David - BA ’69; Barbara - BA ’71 and MS in Forensic Science ‘75), we are writing to express our disappointment in the statement issued by the University’s Office of Communications and Marketing, apologizing for Cecilia Culver’s student commencement speech and banning her from all GW campuses and events. See https://mediarelations.gwu.edu/statement-ccas-school-ceremony-disruption and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE6wK3gB9XM

 

Both of us have been and continue to be active members of our Jewish community: Barbara is a past president of our synagogue’s sisterhood, and both of us have served on our synagogue’s board of trustees.  David is an active member of Jews United for Justice and a recipient of JUFJ’s Heschel Vision Award. https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2015/12/heschel-vision-award-jews-united-for.html  And David is a member of the Commission on Social Action of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.  (This letter is written solely in our personal capacities.)

 

In 1969, David was selected to be student speaker at the GW graduation ceremony. https://davidfishback.blogspot.com/2015/12/student-commencement-speeches-1969.html

Like Ms. Culver, he was given this opportunity because he was respected by University officials. https://economics.columbian.gwu.edu/gw-economics-statistics-double-major-receives-ccas-distinguished-scholar-award

 

1969 was as fraught a period as the present day.  David does not recall whether his speech was pre-cleared or not, but the speech included harsh condemnations of the War in Vietnam and American racism.  Specifically, he does vividly recall an incident in the days before the ceremony, when some students, protesting the Vietnam War, had a “grovel-in” in a University office.  The protest so offended University officials that they threatened to bar one of the protesters from graduating.  David quietly let it be known that, if the protester were barred from graduating, he would refuse to be the commencement speaker.  Cooler heads prevailed, and the protester graduated.

 

With respect to Ms. Culver, the University’s statement makes much of the assertion that Ms. Culver presented a text of her speech for University approval, but then, instead, proceeded to present the discussion of the tragedy in Gaza.  We think this misses the point entirely.  We looked at the University’s discussions of the Columbian College decision to select Ms. Culver and saw that the University was continuing the tradition of selecting an outstanding scholar and member of the community to be commencement speaker.  See https://economics.columbian.gwu.edu/gw-economics-statistics-double-major-receives-ccas-distinguished-scholar-award Having made that selection, it was insulting that the University then felt it needed to “vet” her speech.  We are not at all surprised that Ms. Culver determined that showing the speech she intended to give was not a good idea, when, in the past year and a half, the University had shown so much hostility to those who disagreed with the nature and extent of Israel’s military response to Hamas’ barbarism of October 7, 2023. 

 

We, in great sadness, have come to the conclusion that the choices made by the Israeli government have played into the hands of Hamas.  While Ms. Culver’s speech was not the speech we would have given, it was within the realm of legitimate discourse in this time of crisis. Whether the killing of tens of thousands of people in the Gaza War comes within the legal definition of “genocide” is not ultimately the point; the amount of death is there for all to see.   Indeed, the University official who presided over the ceremony, Associate Dean Kavita Daiya, motioned Ms. Culver back to the podium at the conclusion of the speech and said the following: “Thank you, Cecilia. Here at Columbian College, we represent a variety of views, and we thank you for sharing your words and views.”   https://economics.columbian.gwu.edu/gw-economics-statistics-double-major-receives-ccas-distinguished-scholar-award at 3:08.

And that is where it should have ended.

 

Great universities in open societies do not shrink from discourse on difficult, contentious issues. Dean Daiya provided the opportunity for GW to show itself to be a great university.  But the actions described in the Office of Communications and Marketing’s statement squandered that opportunity.  We are saddened that our alma mater has chosen mediocrity over greatness.

 

In the hope that you can do better in the future,

 

Barbara and David Fishback