Overview
- Jonathan Haidt, an NYU Stern psychologist and author, delivered the Yankee Stadium commencement address on Thursday after weeks of objections from student leaders and activist groups.
- Some graduates booed and others walked out during the speech, which focused on treating attention as scarce, warning that tech platforms compete to capture it.
- He told students to delete attention traps, take on hard challenges to build resilience, and choose real-world friendships over online interaction.
- NYU declined to rescind the invitation and praised Haidt as a consequential scholar, even as a May 5 student government letter criticized his remarks on DEI and transgender identity.
- The clash fits a broader fight over campus speakers and youth tech policy, with groups like Fight for the Future attacking his research and outlets on the left and right framing the episode in sharply different terms.