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Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said Harvard had proven its courage by fighting against the Trump administration during Wednesday’s annual College Class Day.

“When a tyrannical administration tried to bully and threaten Harvard to give up their academic freedom and destroy campus speech, Dr. Alan Garber rejected the illegal and immoral pressures,” Abdul-Jabbar said.

The basketball star was the featured speaker for Class Day, which brought thousands of students and their families into the Yard as Harvard and the Trump administration square off over federal funding and international students.

Abdul-Jabbar, who spoke about his path joining the civil rights movement and decision to boycott the 1968 Olympics, said he drew inspiration from Muhammad Ali and Martin Luther King Jr.

In praising Harvard, Abdul-Jabbar referenced King’s encouragement to people to “choose justice over injustice.”

“One of the reasons I’m so pleased to be here today is because I view Harvard University as being among the others willing to take Dr. King’s place,” Abdul-Jabbar said.

Abdul-Jabbar motivated seniors to take up King’s struggle for justice.

“As I look out all over the beautiful faces today who are ready to launch their lives of successful careers, I wonder how many of you will be among the others willing to take Dr. King’s place,” he said.

Outgoing College Dean Rakesh Khurana did not directly address the fight with the White House, but in explaining to the seniors what they could expect during the University-wide Commencement ceremony on Thursday, changed gears mid-sentence to lead a rallying cry.

“I will begin with salutations to President Garber — and by the way, can we give a huge round of applause to President Garber for standing up for what’s right?” Khurana said.

The crowd roared into applause and a 15-second standing ovation.

He then gave them the advice he gives every student who tells him they wish to redo their college experience, adding that this sense of longing resonates especially strongly with him right now.

“I try to reassure them that this very feeling of wanting to begin again is paradoxically a sign that they’ve been transformed,” Khurana said. “In my last days as Dean of the College, I understand exactly what they need. What would it look like to begin this journey again, only as the person you are now?” Khurana said.

He answered by asserting that students’ purpose would be different — just as his teaching might evolve as he returns to the classroom after an 11-year tenure as dean.

“If I become a better scholar, mentor and teacher, it’s because of what I’ve learned from all of you,” Khurana said.

Several student speakers addressed other notable controversies that had shaped the Class of 2025’s time at Harvard — from doxxing attacks in the aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel to the resignation of former University president Claudine Gay.

“We witnessed the Supreme Court strike down affirmative action, ending race conscious admissions,” Senior Class First Marshall Uzma A. Issa ’25 said in a speech. “Junior year, the chaos only continued. Conflict rippled across the globe, our classmates felt victim to doxxing campaigns, and Alan Garber became the third University president during our time here.”

In a comedic speech, Marco R. Burstein ’25, this year’s Ivy Orator, emphasized how quickly both the country and the University had changed since the class started in 2021.

“We were at the First-Year Formal when Roe v. Wade was overturned,” he said. “The Love-Pop origami greeting card store has outlasted shopping week, linking groups, and the entire presidency of Claudine Gay.”

Burstein concluded his speech by telling his peers that it is important to admit what you don’t know, before taking a shot at Gay, who resigned in January 2024 over allegations of plagiarism and failure to address campus antisemitism.

“To drive this point home, I would like to read a line that resonated with me from a paper by former President Claudine Gay,” he added. “As she so profoundly wrote, ‘the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.’”

David J. Deming, the incoming College dean who will begin on July 1, covered his face in nervous laughter.

—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.