CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Comedian and television host Conan O’Brien will entertain Harvard University graduates at their commencement Thursday, at a time when the Ivy League school is in the crosshairs of the Trump administration.
O’Brien graduated from Harvard in 1985, where he studied history and served as president of The Harvard Lampoon, the university’s famed humor publication that has launched generations of comedy writers.
He returns to campus during one of the most fraught periods in Harvard’s recent history, as the school faces mounting legal and financial pressure from President Donald Trump. The administration sued the school in March, accusing its leadership of failing to address antisemitism on campus, months after a judge sided with Harvard in another lawsuit and ordered the administration to reverse billions of dollars in funding cuts.
The administration had slashed more than $2.6 billion in Harvard’s research funding, ended federal contracts and attempted to block the college from hosting international students. Harvard had argued it was being illegally penalized for refusing to adopt the Trump administration’s views.
Harvard commencements in recent years have become much more political, partly because of the ongoing battles with the federal government. Last year, students cheered speakers who emphasized maintaining a diverse and international student body and standing up for truth in the face of attacks by the Trump administration. A year before that, graduates walked out of the commencement chanting “Free, free Palestine” after weeks of protests on campus over the war in Gaza. Others chanted “Let them walk, let them walk,” after the school announced some students who were part of a protest encampment would not get their diplomas alongside other graduates.
This year, striking graduate students at Harvard announced that they would be picketing commencement over a lack of progress in their contract negotiations with the university. The over 4,000 graduate student workers want better pay, an independent process for dealing with harassment and discrimination complaints and contractual protection for noncitizen and disabled workers, among other issues.
Associated Press reporter Leah Willingham contributed from Boston.
