Khurana Reaffirms Inclusivity Commitment As Affinity Groups Organize Unsponsored Grad Celebrations

Outgoing College Dean Rakesh Khurana affirmed his commitment to inclusive programming in a Tuesday interview after Harvard announced it would no longer fund or provide campus spaces for affinity graduation celebrations.

“The College has always been committed to non-discrimination,” Khurana said. “I think our strongest emphasis has been on inclusion — inclusion for everyone.”

“I think that’s nothing new,” he added.

Harvard announced their decision to no longer fund affinity celebrations in an April 29 email from the Office for Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, which had been renamed to “Community and Campus Life” only hours before.

Despite the new policy ending University support for affinity ceremonies, several student and alumni organizations are forging ahead and scrambling to organize after Harvard said they would no longer provide funding or a venue.

Out of the ten celebrations that took place last year, six are set to return in similar, though no longer University-sponsored, forms — including events to honor Black, Latinx, LGBTQ+, and Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Desi graduates, as well as for veterans and people with disabilities. There are currently no celebrations scheduled for Arab, Indigenous, Jewish, and first-generation and low-income students, all of which held events last year.

Though he declined to comment on whether he supported the University’s decision regarding affinity celebrations, Khurana said he was aware that the impacts of the new policy were “deeply felt in our community.”

“I hope that people know how proud we are of every single student who is graduating, and recognizing that people have come from very different backgrounds and experiences to get here,” Khurana said. “We have this incredible opportunity to celebrate on this one day all of their accomplishments.”

Khurana has been a staunch defender of diversity programming in the past, affirming the importance of a diverse student body and saying he was disappointed by the Supreme Court ruling that the University could no longer utilize race-conscious admissions practices.

Harvard’s decision to withdraw support for affinity celebrations drew protest from students, who accused the University of privately capitulating to the Trump administration despite publicly portraying itself as resisting the White House’s attacks.

The Department of Education had demanded the University end any race-based graduation celebrations in March, but spokespeople have repeatedly declined to comment on the motivation for Harvard’s decision.
During Tuesday’s interview, Khurana also addressed the University’s decision earlier this month to share information with the Department of Homeland Security about international students, though he declined to say whether he knew what specifically had been shared.

“I know that many of our international students are experiencing this as a time of anxiety and stress,” Khurana said. “And it is natural, too, given what you read in the newspaper.”

The DHS sent Harvard a letter in April threatening to revoke its ability to host international students if the University did not share information about their involvement in campus protests.

“Our international students are a critical part of the College,” Khurnana said. “Our domestic students benefit so much from also being around students from different backgrounds and experiences from around the world.”

—Staff writer Samuel A. Church can be reached at samuel.church@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @samuelachurch.

—Staff writer Cam N. Srivastava can be reached at cam.srivastava@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @camsrivastava.