Shruthi Kumar Blasts Harvard About Free Speech At Graduation

India-West News Desk

BOSTON, MA – Shruthi Kumar, an Indian American senior at Harvard University, used her platform as the English commencement speaker to criticize the university for sanctioning more than a dozen students for their activism. During her speech, titled “The Power of Not Knowing,” Kumar deviated from her prepared remarks to address the issue, drawing a piece of paper with her comments from the sleeve of her gown.

“As I stand here today, I must take a moment to recognize my peers—the 13 undergraduates in the class of 2024 that will not graduate today,” Kumar stated on May 22, addressing the university leadership. These students were barred from participating in commencement due to sanctions for their involvement in pro-Palestinian protests on campus.

Expressing her disappointment, Kumar said, “I am deeply disappointed by the intolerance for freedom of speech and their right to civil disobedience on campus. The students have spoken. The faculty have spoken. Harvard, do you hear us?” Her words were met with a standing ovation from the audience, including some faculty members.

Kumar’s speech continued to address broader issues such as the war in Gaza, the experience of being doxed for her views, and what she described as attacks on free speech and expression. This bold move was a departure from her originally planned speech, which had focused on personal growth and embracing change.

Kumar, one of three students selected to speak at graduation through an annual contest, initially intended to share a message about adapting to uncertainty, inspired by her journey from a pre-med career track to public health. Her original speech, published in Harvard Magazine, reflected on her upbringing in Nebraska and her experiences as the eldest daughter of South Asian immigrants, the first in her family to attend college in the U.S.

“There was a lot I didn’t know,” Kumar said in her speech. “When it came time, I asked my parents how to apply to colleges. They too said, ‘I don’t know.’ These words—’I don’t know’—used to make me feel powerless like there was no answer, and therefore, no way. But from Nebraska to Harvard, I found myself redefining this feeling of not knowing. I discovered a newfound power in how much I didn’t know,” she wrote in her original speech.

Kumar’s advocacy at Harvard included a campaign to provide free menstrual products in all campus bathrooms, resulting in 817 bathrooms being regularly stocked with tampons and sanitary pads. She is the founder of GoYogi, a non-profit organization dedicated to prioritizing student mental health and well-being in schools worldwide.

An accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer since the age of nine, Kumar credits the dance form with teaching her the importance of emotional expression and the value of preserving her cultural heritage.

After graduation, Kumar plans to work on public health entrepreneurship and eventually attend law school or pursue a Ph.D.