Throngs of violet robes filled Yankee Stadium Thursday morning, music blaring as tens of thousands of graduates and guests arrived at NYU’s 193rd all-university commencement — amid heightened tensions over this year’s controversial keynote speaker.   

The May 14 event — Linda Mills’ third as university president — comes after administrators’ selection of Stern professor Jonathan Haidt as keynote speaker spurred debate among students, who criticized his campaigns against diversity initiatives and progressive university culture. The discourse surrounding Haidt, a social psychologist who blames phone usage for young peoples’ declining mental health, garnered national attention after student government leaders called for his reconsideration.

A group of Steinhardt singers opened the ceremony just before 11 a.m. with a performance of “New York, New York” followed by a procession led by Rory Meyers College of Nursing professor Beth Latimer and trailed by deans and provosts from NYU’s 19 schools.

Provost Georgina Dopico officially kicked off the ceremony around noon. NYU’s Board of Trustees chair Evan Chesler gave the first speech, reflecting on his experiences as a two-time NYU graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences and NYU School of Law and welcoming the class of 2026 to the university’s alumni community.

“A college education was out of reach for my family until NYU gave me a scholarship, and it changed my life,” Chesler said. “As a law student, I had the good fortune to study a discipline I loved and which would lead me on a path of purpose and meaning.”

Following a video played with congratulatory remarks from the graduating class, Steinhardt graduate speaker Armaan Gupta addressed his peers live. After recounting his appearance on Chopped Junior, Gupta garnered applause for remarks supporting international students and criticizing artificial intelligence. 

“We started our first year in masks, we weathered unpredictability at home and abroad and now we’re navigating a world dominated by AI,” Gupta said. “We learned to stop worrying about being behind the 8-ball, and we started focusing on our own unique perspectives that only we possess.”

Earlier this week, student government leaders called on administrators to reconsider Haidt’s selection as commencement speaker, pointing to the Stern professor’s “disturbing rhetoric around antiracism” and refusal to write a statement explaining how his research supported equity and inclusion. A university spokesperson told the New York Times that Haidt was among “the most consequential scholars of the 21st century.”

Haidt’s work inspired NYU IRL, the university’s new initiative that offers device-free zones and events. His newest book, “The Anxious Generation” — which has been a New York Times nonfiction bestseller for two years — cites cell phone and social media use as a key contributor to declining teen mental health. Student leaders said his push for less technology is “disregarding the very real-world crises and systemic hurdles” that graduates experienced.  

Graduation also spurred discourse earlier this year, when NYU briefly canceled all identity-based ceremonies in February — before inviting students to participate in a new celebration, functioning nearly identical to the affinity graduation, one month later. Student leaders also asked NYU to reconsider a new policy that required all school-based ceremony speakers to record their statement for a video. The university maintained that the change promoted “more varied and engaging” ceremonies. 

Sparse boos could be heard from the audience when President Linda Mills appeared on the jumbotron to confer honorary degrees to Haidt, singer-songwriter Jacob Collier, ex-NBA player and judge Mal Graham as well as geneticist Mary-Claire King. 

The booing got louder as Haidt began his address at 12:30 p.m., when around three dozen students stood up and walked out of the stadium. Haidt continued with his speech, where he advised graduates to expose themselves to challenges and spend less time on their phones, citing his research linking technology use to declining mental health among young people.

“If you treasure your attention and use it to do hard things in real life with other people, then — and trust me on this as a social psychologist — your life is going to be amazing,” Haidt said. “And the world is going to be a far better place because you’re in it.” 

Haidt briefly acknowledged the controversy surrounding his selection, noting previous speakers like Taylor Swift and sarcastically remarking “thank God they finally found a social psychologist.” He ended his speech encouraging graduates to prioritize in-person relationships.

After Haidt, graduates stood up and sang along as Collier performed a mashup of Frank Sinatra songs including “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.” He followed his performance with a speech, expressing the importance of continuing to find your voice amid current political tension — remarks that received boisterous applause from students. 

As Mills began another speech, a student in the law school section on the right side of the stadium stuck out his middle finger and waved an Israeli flag twice. Over 50 graduates turned to him and chanted “kick him out,” which could be heard across the venue amid a brief pause from Mills. 

Security guards confiscated the flag but allowed the student — who was reportedly laughing and shouting profanities — to remain seated with the audience, citing “Yankee Stadium policy.” Arguments broke out in the section as security threatened to remove graduates protesting the disrupter, according to a student in the area.

The ceremony closed out at around 1 p.m. with deans from each school conferring degrees to candidates representing each school. To conclude the commencement, Mills passed the torch to the youngest baccalaureate degree candidate, 18-year-old SPS graduate Naomi Mason-Boudad, then extended a final congratulation to the graduates as confetti burst throughout the arena. 

Contact Leena Ahmed, Natalie Deoragh, Zachary Karp and Dharma Niles at [email protected].