Students Boo, Walk Out on 2026 Graduation Speakers as DEI Disputes Trigger Disinvitations

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 11

2026 commencement ceremonies at several U.S. campuses were disrupted by student booing, walkouts and speaker withdrawals, with New York University students jeering psychologist Jonathan Haidt and South Carolina State disinviting Lt. Gov. Pamela Everett.
The clashes centered on ideological disputes, especially over DEI and campus speech, as officials and speakers faced pressure campaigns that the report says turned disagreement into cancellation rather than debate.
Drexel's College of Computing and Informatics, Rutgers and Georgetown Law were also cited as campuses where speakers were disinvited or stepped aside after student backlash.
The report argues the episodes reflect a broader higher-education culture of ideological conformity and weak administrative leadership, and calls for stricter academic standards, less racial discrimination and eventual student-loan reform.

Sources

Right100%

Why could university leaders now face personal criminal liability over their campus's diversity and inclusion policies?

As new federal rules cap student loans, how will the next generation of graduate students afford their education?

With 7,840 federal research grants suddenly canceled, what is the future for American scientific and social innovation?