Hundreds of students walked out of Stanford University’s commencement ceremony during a speech by Google CEO Sundar Pichai. The protest was organized by student groups demonstrating support for Palestine. As soon as Pichai began his address, between 100 and 200 students stood up and exited the hall.
During the protest, participants chanted “Freedom for Palestine,” displayed Palestinian flags, and carried banners. The student groups had previously announced the action as a form of opposition to Google’s perceived ties to the Israeli government, citing major technology contracts and cloud computing agreements. Despite the visible protest and the departure of some graduates, the commencement ceremony proceeded as scheduled, and Pichai delivered his speech to those who remained.
Students involved in the walkout stated that their objective was to draw attention to the role of large technology corporations in international conflicts and to question the ethical responsibilities inherent in their agreements with various governments. The incident became a notable and controversial moment of this year’s Stanford graduation ceremony.
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