#commencement

[theonion]

[kropotkindersurprise]

May 23, 2024 - Over a thousand Harvard students and faculty walked out of the offcial Harvard commencement ceremony to hold a People's Commencement, in solidarity with Palestine and the 15 seniors having their degrees withheld by Harvard for protesting against Israel's genocide. [video]

[muppet-facts]

Muppet Fact #1403

Kermit the Frog will give the 2025 commencement speech at the University of Maryland, where Jim Henson was a member of the 1960 graduating class.

This will be the second time Kermit will have given a commencement speech. The first time was 1996 at Southampton College.

Sources:

Petri, Alexandra E. "Kermit the Frog Will Deliver Commencement Speech at U. of Maryland." The New York Times, March 26, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/26/us/kermit-the-frog-commencement-speech-maryland.html?smid=url-share.

UMD. "Announcing UMD's 2025 Commencement Speaker." YouTube, March 26, 2025. https://youtu.be/pEDf0UKJdgg.

"Southampton College News: Kermit's Commencement Address at Southampton College" January 30, 2008. (Archived). https://href.li/?https://web.archive.org/web/20080130032057/http://www.southampton.liu.edu/news/commence/1996/kermit.htm.

[svgifs]

[ifwebefriends]

THE GREAT YAOI STICKER-BACHELOR DEGREE RACE OF 2025

(Poll Below)

Heyyyyyyyyy! So guess who’s graduating from college today? (IT’S ME CAN YOU FUCKING BELIEVE IT AHHHHHHHH) So to celebrate this great occasion, I will be holding a race inspired by this post:

Original Post Here

I have ordered 6 stickers/sets of stickers from various Etsy venders, each depicting a different yaoi ship that I like. At the same time, my Bachelor’s degree will be being printed and mailed to me. I’m hoping that at least one set of stickers will reach me before my degree does. I will be posting updates about the deliveries on this post.

And the contenders are:

Jonmartin sticker by FaerieAnaPaints

Sonadow sticker by HedgieArtsShop

Narumitsu sticker by SqueakyPotat

Fiddauthor sticker by HoodedJelly

Jayvik sticker by Inkforwords

Jedtavius sticker by SMJonesArtCo

To be clear: I don’t plan on giving out any sort of prize for this, this is all just a silly thing I’m doing in good fun to celebrate me graduating college (also I think it’s kinda funny). That being said:

Which thing do you think will arrive first?

Jonmartin sticker

Sonadow sticker

Narumitsu sticker

Fiddauthor sticker

Jayvik sticker

Jedtavius sticker

My Bachelor’s Degree

Voting ended onMay 16, 2025

Happy voting!

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Universities Are Enabling America's Press Freedom Collapse

Professor Derek Peterson said nothing wrong. That’s exactly why the University of Michigan punished him

Qasim Rashid at Let's Address This:

May 3 was World Press Freedom Day—a celebration of free expression and speech. On May 2, Professor Derek Peterson stood before the graduating class of the University of Michigan and delivered an inspiring commencement address, one that will be remembered—not because it was radical, but because it is now censored. Professor Peterson is no ordinary faculty member. He is a historian, an African Studies scholar, a MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, and the outgoing chair of the Faculty Senate. He is, by any measure, precisely the kind of voice a university should be proud to elevate at its most ceremonial moment.

So what did Professor Peterson say at commencement that was so egregious? So egregious that it motivated the University of Michigan President to remove his remarks from the University website, remove the entire commencement ceremony in which he spoke, issue a formal letter of apology to the public, and distance himself and the University from Professor Peterson? The disturbing answer reflects a growing trend of censorship and collapsing press freedom nationally and internationally.

What Professor Peterson Said

Here is what Professor Peterson said—in full—about the students who have spent the past two years speaking up for Palestinian lives:

[Sing for the pro-Palestinian student activists who have, over these past two years, opened our hearts to the injustice and inhumanity of Israel’s war in Gaza. The greatness of this institution does not only rest on the shoulders and on the accomplishments of our student-athletes who deserve all the congratulations we can offer them. But the greatness of this university rests also on the courage and the conviction of student activists who have pushed this university down the path towards justice.]

Preceding these remarks, Professor Peterson celebrated three other iconic voices. Sarah Burger — the suffragette who fought to open Michigan’s doors to women. Moritz Levi — the first Jewish professor at Michigan, who opened those same doors to generations of Jewish students fleeing antisemitism at East Coast universities. And the Black Action Movement students who demanded a curriculum reflecting Black identity and experience. But it was Professor Peterson’s additional recognition of all students who spoke up for Palestinians—Jewish and Muslim, Christian and atheist, Black, brown, and white—that enraged the University of Michigan. Professor Peterson dared place Palestinian solidarity and activism in its precise historical context—that of a long and honorable tradition of students refusing to accept the injustices of their time.

[...] Let’s be precise about what just happened. A MacArthur Genius who celebrated Jewish students, Black students, women, and Palestinian solidarity activists in the same speech was publicly reprimanded, had his speech erased from the public record, and was subjected to a university apology that treats the mere mention of Palestinian humanity as something requiring institutional contrition.

[...]

The University of Michigan Is Not Alone

What happened to Professor Peterson is part of a rapidly accelerating national pattern that should alarm every American who believes in free expression, regardless of where they stand on any particular political question. Commencement ceremonies at several universities have undergone a post-October 7 overhaul, with some students saying their free speech rights are being suppressed. There will be no live student speakers at CUNY School of Law or at NYU’s school-specific ceremonies, after former students gave speeches that were fiercely critical of Israel. The restrictions have prompted an ongoing lawsuit brought by CUNY law students who allege violations of their First Amendment rights. “We have our voice taken away in what’s supposed to be our biggest moment,” said CUNY Law’s student government president.

[...] The hypocrisy is not subtle. These are the same institutions that proudly invoke free speech when hosting conservative provocateurs, far-right commentators, and speakers whose records include documented bigotry against a range of communities. The principle of free expression, it turns out, has a very specific carve-out: it ends the moment a Palestinian life is mentioned with empathy.

Great piece from Qasim Rashid on how universities are enabling the collapse of free speech and freedom of the press by suppressing pro-Palestinian speech.

[edieholmes]

Wtf, how... Why is Lex standing in the door watching Lana kill Genevieve?!