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3d ago

NYU Withholds Diploma of Student Speaker Over Gaza Remarks

Logan Rozos’s commencement speech condemning Israel's actions and U.S. support sparks disciplinary action and intensifies debate on free speech and academic freedom.

Logan Rozos, a New York University student commencement speaker, denounces "atrocities currently happening in Palestine" during his talk, May 14, 2025. NYU revoked his diploma over the speech. (Screenshot via X)
New York University logo is seen in New York's Greenwich Village on July 5th, 2024.
FILE - Pedestrians walk near an NYU building in New York, Dec. 16, 2021. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, file)

Overview

  • Logan Rozos, selected as the Gallatin School's commencement speaker, used his platform to denounce Israel's military actions in Gaza, calling them genocide, and criticized U.S. complicity.
  • NYU accused Rozos of violating pre-approved speech guidelines, withheld his diploma, and initiated disciplinary proceedings, citing misuse of his role and dishonesty about his planned remarks.
  • The speech, which received applause and some boos, has drawn praise from free-speech advocates but condemnation from pro-Israel groups such as the Anti-Defamation League.
  • This incident follows NYU's 2024 policy updates broadening harassment definitions to include certain criticisms of Zionism, under pressure from the Trump administration to address alleged antisemitism.
  • The controversy highlights broader tensions on U.S. campuses over free speech, political expression, and institutional responses to pro-Palestinian activism.