Outside Harvard Yard, Grads Say They’re Proud of Harvard for Resisting Trump

As graduating seniors and their families lined up outside the gates to Harvard Yard, several said they were proud of the University for standing up to Trump’s attacks on Harvard and higher education.

“We’re going into one of the most volatile times in education and being a graduate of Harvard, but kind of still representing and showing we will not back down to intimidation,” said Natalie D. Figueroa, a student graduating from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Some families said that the difficult year the University has had makes Commencement even more special.

Darcy Turner, who came to see her husband graduate from the School of Public Health — which has been among the most affected schools at Harvard due to federal funding cuts — said that her husband was a “real leader.”

“In this time of challenge in public health, we’re really excited to see him do his thing,” she said.

—Staff writer Akshaya Ravi can be reached at akshaya.ravi@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @akshayaravi22.