Last spring, the college temporarily changed the process for choosing a student Commencement speaker, selecting Student Government Association (SGA) President Brandon Straker ’25 to deliver a speech without the routine input of a student and staff-led committee. This change was made due to controversies over the speeches of the two previous commencement speakers, who deviated from their approved scripts to accuse the college of complacency in the war in Gaza. For the upcoming Feb Commencement ceremony on Jan. 31, the process has returned to an open call for graduates to submit recorded videos of their speeches for consideration.
In an added step this year, the chosen speaker will be required to review, acknowledge and adhere to a signed agreement to stick to their approved speech, according to Vice President for Student Affairs Smita Ruzicka.
“It is important to emphasize to potential speakers that the Commencement speech is intended to be celebratory and inspirational,” Ruzicka wrote in an email to The Campus.
At the Spring 2024 Commencement ceremony, student speaker Adayliah Ley ’24 criticized the college’s investments in companies that manufacture products used in the Gaza war or contribute to arms manufacturing. At last February’s Commencement, Faith Wood ’24.5 also condemned the institution’s alleged complacency in the war, accused it of failing its students and suggested that community members withhold donations to the college. Both speeches sparked both heavy backlash and praise online.
In the spring, Ruzicka confirmed the college administration’s concerns over the offended feelings of audience members who watched these two unexpected speeches. Administrators disapproved of what Ruzicka called the circumvention of the selection process, suggesting that students on the committees knew that the speakers they selected planned to veer off-script.
Speech submissions, due on Dec.13, will be judged by three to four student leaders from the class of 2025.5 and two or three staff members who work in Student Affairs and Communications and Marketing.
“The decision to move away from a committee-led process was always meant to be temporary while we reviewed the process and determined what meaningful changes needed to be made,” Ruzicka wrote.
Madeleine Kaptein '25.5 (she/her) is the Editor in Chief.
Madeleine previously served as a managing editor, local editor, staff writer and copy editor. She is a Comparative Literature major with a focus on German and English literatures and was a culture journalism intern at Seven Days for the summer of 2025.
