Student Speaker Thor Reimann ’25 Celebrates Harvard’s Decision to Defy Federal Pressure

Thor N. Reimann ’25 praised Harvard for continuing its legacy as a symbol of resistance and called on his classmates to carry that tradition forward.

“This community — our community — has led the way through chaos before,” he said.

He veered away from his prepared remarks to celebrate Harvard’s defiance of the Trump administration.

“Our University is certainly imperfect, but I am proud to stand today alongside our graduating class, our faculty, and our president, with the shared conviction that this ongoing project of Veritas is one worth defending,” Reimann said, to a cascade of applause.

Reimann, who structured his address off an Emily Dickinson poem, cited historical examples of Harvard choosing to lead the charge — including when Harvard sheltered troops during the American Revolution and when University alumni proposed the New Deal during the Great Depression and helped bring the United States to the moon.

“All of this, our alumni achieved not in service of themselves or ideology, but in service of others in times of great national need,” he said. “These, too, are times of great need, but this world, this world is not a conclusion.”

Reimann acknowledged that he was leaving a campus vastly different from the one he entered — shaped by the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack and the Trump administration’s recent salvo against the University. But he cautioned that the real purpose of the Class of 2025’s education was just beginning.

“But four years later, I can see that’s the paradox we face,” he said. “The purpose of our time here really starts today, as we leave campus.”

And he exhorted undergraduates — in a coda that was both an encouragement and a warning — to accept their responsibility to serve the world.

“You can try to shirk this charge of service, but Emily Dickinson warns that it will chase you down,” he said.

—Staff writer Dhruv T. Patel can be reached at dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @dhruvtkpatel.

—Staff writer Grace E. Yoon can be reached at grace.yoon@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @graceunkyoon.