Some Xavier University students upset with planned commencement address by UN ambassador
NEW ORLEANS– Xavier University’s choice to deliver its undergraduate speech has sparked criticism among students opposed to previous U.S. positions on the war in Gaza.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield will speak to graduates of Xavier’s College of Arts and Sciences on Saturday at 1 p.m., The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate reported. In an announcement, the school described the Louisiana native, Baker native and Louisiana State University graduate, as a “trailblazing Black woman” who forged her own path.
But shortly after news of her appearance at the historically black university spread, students asked the administration to cancel her speech and created an online petition asking for the same. They have also asked university officials to review how commencement speakers are chosen in the future.
“It has come to our attention that the university has chosen to invite a UN ambassador, who voted against a ceasefire in Gaza, to address our graduating class,” wrote Chase Patterson, president of the student association of Xavier. “This decision has caused great dismay and disappointment among us as it contradicts the values and principles upheld by our institution. … As members of a compassionate and empathetic community, we cannot close our eyes to the suffering of our fellow human beings.”
Before the US presented a March resolution to the UN Security Council calling for an “immediate and lasting ceasefire in Gaza,” it vetoed three other ceasefire resolutions passed by other countries were proposed. In explaining one veto, Thomas Greenfield said the US cannot support ceasefire resolutions that do not mention Israel’s right to self-defense; in explaining another argument, she said the US cannot support a ceasefire until Hamas frees the hostages it took during the October 7 attack on Israel.
Tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians have been killed in Gaza since October.
Xavier administrators did not immediately respond to questions about whether they would rescind Thomas-Greenfield’s invitation.
Thomas-Greenfield, who did not comment on Xavier’s invitation, has served as UN ambassador under President Joe Biden since her appointment in 2021. She also serves as the US representative on the UN Security Council.
She spent more than thirty years as a US Foreign Service officer, serving as US Ambassador to Liberia and serving in multiple posts in Switzerland, Pakistan, Kenya, Gambia, Nigeria and Jamaica.
Thomas-Greenfield faced similar backlash at the University of Vermont, where she was scheduled to give the May 19 commencement address. Pro-Palestinian student protesters called on the school to cancel her speech, citing the ceasefire vetoes. The school announced on Friday that it would not speak.
Xavier Muslim Student Association president Zaynab Al-Rashed, who graduates on Saturday, created the Change.org petition calling on university administrators to find a new speaker and support the call for a ceasefire. By Tuesday afternoon, more than 1,600 people had signed it.
Al-Rashed said she met with administrators on Monday and was told the university began looking for a commencement speaker in September, before war broke out in Gaza. She said she was told the decision to give the speech or cancel it rests with Xavier President Reynold Verret, who was out of the country on university business.
“We definitely hope that the U.N. ambassador herself or the administration reconsiders whether she will speak at our commencement,” said Al-Rashed, a senior biology major who plans to attend medical school. “We really want this to be a celebratory end to our time at Xavier, and there are concerns that this person’s speaking out takes away from that.”