Overview
- Conan O’Brien delivered the principal address Thursday, May 28, accepted an honorary degree, and used humor to mock the Trump administration’s lawsuits and criticize efforts to limit international students.
- More than 4,000 Harvard graduate student workers remain on strike and roughly 300 union members picketed multiple entrances and the Smith Campus Center during commencement to press demands for higher pay and independent harassment and discrimination processes.
- Harvard conferred five honorary degrees at the ceremony, including recipients Geoffrey Hinton and Audra McDonald, underscoring the institution’s prominence even as it faces intense scrutiny.
- The federal dispute with the administration continues: the government has cut over $2.6 billion in research funding and sued Harvard on antisemitism claims, while courts have earlier ordered reversals of some cuts and separate DOJ litigation remains unresolved.
- Coverage split along political lines, with liberal outlets highlighting O’Brien’s defense of pluralism and union action and conservative outlets and White House spokespeople dismissing his remarks, signaling the story’s wider role in the national debate over universities and federal policy.