Xavier University of Louisiana, a Historically Black college in New Orleans, became the second school to cancel United Nations Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield’s address amid the students’ Gaza protests.
The institution reversed course on its choice of a commencement speaker after pressure from students and the community over Thomas-Greenfield’s voting record at the U.N.
University President Reynold Verret announced the news in a Wednesday email.
“Everyone’s goal is to have a commencement ceremony that appropriately honors the graduates and their achievements,” Verret wrote in the email. “The vast majority of students want to be able to enjoy a commencement ceremony free of disruptions. Therefore, we will not be moving forward with the commencement speaker as originally planned.”
The school initially revealed that Thomas-Greenfield would be the commencement speaker last Sunday. Following the Sunday news of the speaker lineup, nearly 1,800 people signed a petition demanding a new commencement speaker.
“Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield has repeatedly voted against a ceasefire in Gaza, resulting in the decimation of all 13 universities in Gaza, the loss of over 30,000 lives with thousands more remaining in the rubble from violence, and the continuation of the genocide in Gaza,” the petition says. “Palestinians in Gaza draw upon the experiences of their brothers and sisters in America during the segregation era.”
The student-led petition asked the university to bring a commencement speaker that “represents” the school’s mission statement and to “end the politicization of our Commencement ceremony.”
It is the second school, after the University of Vermont (UVM), to make the decision.
Suresh Garimella, UVM’s president, announced the decision in an email to the university community.
“It is with regret that I share that our planned speaker, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, will not be joining us to deliver the Commencement address,” Garimella said in the email.
Pro-Palestinian protesters on university campuses across the country have shown their displeasure with President Biden and his administration’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war and the humanitarian crisis impacting Palestinians in Gaza.