After year of turmoil, Harvard graduates soak in the sun

Featured Guest Speaker Bill Oliverio waves to crowd after his speech at Harvard College 2024 Class Day. Oliverio is a beloved security guard at Currier House, a residential hall on campus.Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff

CAMBRIDGE — Blazing sun shone over thousands of graduating Harvard seniors and their families Wednesday afternoon at Class Day — including a picnic lunch on the Yard and a ceremony with guest speakers, including a beloved campus security guard.

The Ivy League university has been caught in controversy over the handling of the recent pro-Palestinian encampment and accusations of antisemitism over the Israel-Hamas war. But the turmoil was out of mind for many class of 2024 members who were simply soaking in their first in-person graduations, since the COVID-19 pandemic forced their high school ceremonies online or canceled them outright.

Following lunch on the Old Yard, thousands fanned into chairs on the Tercentenary Theatre to hear speeches from seniors, student marshals, Dean Rakesh Khurana, and featured guest speakers William Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid, and Bill Oliverio, a dormitory security guard.

In the past, Class Day guest speakers have been high-profile celebrities and academics such as former Vice President Al Gore, a Harvard alum, and comedian Amy Poehler, a Burlington native. But this year, amid ongoing controversies, more than 10 candidates declined offers to speak. Harvard invited the two staff members to do so instead, keeping the ceremony close to home.

William R. Fitzsimmons, dean of admissions and financial aid at Harvard, was a featured speaker at the undergraduate Class Day Thursday. Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff

Before the ceremony, some graduates said they were not surprised about the choice of guest speakers.

“We’ve gone through such a different process this year, it’s no surprise that for our speakers, we’re doing something different from the ordinary,” said Robert Escudero, an economics graduate.

Ariana White, who lived in Currier House for the past three years, said she was excited Harvard invited her dormitory security guard to speak. “He’s very caring and really cares about our well-being,” she said of Oliverio.

First Marshal of the senior class Fez Zafar opened the speaking program.

“Let us embrace this moment,” he said, mentioning the 1,359 days spent on Harvard’s campus, and 1,200 more in high school that led up to this week’s commencement. “It’s been a long time coming.”

He spoke to the challenges their class has faced, particularly this year. “Unprecedented controversy, a presidential resignation, and campus turmoil unlike any university has seen,” he said.

Laurie Schoellkopf (left) with her daughter, Christina Veta, who is receiving a master's degree in creative writing and literature, at Harvard College Class of 2024 Class Day.Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff

But he concluded by sharing the Class of 2024′s official mission statement: “It’s gonna be electric.”

Khurana, chair of the administrative board considering the cases of the 15 students who are not being allowed to graduate, was the first faculty member to speak. He made no direct mention of the controversy as he challenged graduates to embrace complexities in thought.

“Binary thinking is not the new phenomenon,” he said. “We move no closer to solving societal problems that way.”

Senior marshals Tarina Ahuja and Shruthi Kumar used their time on the podium for their introduction of the next speaker to break the silence about the 15 seniors who were barred from graduation due to their involvement in the encampment.

“These students are students of integrity, who unequivocally and bravely stood up for what they believed in, especially in the name of Veritas and with a deep commitment to justice,” Ahuja said. “The class of 2024 is incomplete without these 15 seniors.”

As the two read out the first names of the students, claps and cheers broke out.

When Fitzsimmons took the podium, he joked, “I don’t even have an album to announce,” referencing the choice to appoint him as speaker instead of a celebrity. He told students how proud he was of how far Harvard has come in its diversity and financial aid program.

Oliverio told a story from the beginning of his tenure in The Currier House when he was approached by three football players who told him to find them if anyone gave him trouble. Oliverio said after that interaction, “the stigma which you guys are all cursed with as spoiled rich kids disappeared” from his mind.

After his speech, Oliverio received a group hug from seniors on stage.

Harvard 2024 students Manuel Yepes, left a social studies major and Robert Escudero, right, an economics major, enjoyed lunch in the Old Yard with their families as part of Class Day ceremonies Thursday.Jonathan Wiggs/Globe Staff