{"id":5034,"date":"2026-05-04T07:49:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T07:49:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/04\/faculty-senate-chair-praises-student-activists-at-commencement\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T07:49:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T07:49:11","slug":"faculty-senate-chair-praises-student-activists-at-commencement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2026\/05\/04\/faculty-senate-chair-praises-student-activists-at-commencement\/","title":{"rendered":"Faculty Senate chair praises student activists at commencement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>While delivering his speech at the University of Michigan\u2019s spring 2026 commencement ceremony, history professor Derek Peterson, outgoing chair of the University of Michigan\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/facultysenate.umich.edu\/\">Faculty Senate<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/facultysenate.umich.edu\/sacua\/\">Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs<\/a>, told graduates to remember pro-Palestine student activists when singing the University\u2019s fight song.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSing for the pro-Palestinian student activists, who have over these past two years opened our hearts to the injustice and inhumanity of Israel\u2019s war in Gaza,\u201d Peterson said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"perfmatters-lazy-youtube\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/iu0xsQtkMC4\" data-id=\"iu0xsQtkMC4\" data-query=\"version=3&amp;rel=1&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en-US&amp;autohide=2&amp;wmode=transparent\" data-referrerpolicy=\"\" onclick=\"perfmattersLazyLoadYouTube(this);\">\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Since 2023, student activists have called for the divestment of the University\u2019s endowment from companies with financial ties to Israel\u2019s military campaign Gaza, which has killed more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/features\/2026\/2\/18\/gaza-death-toll-exceeds-75000-as-independent-data-verify-loss\">75,000 people<\/a> and has been classified as a genocide by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/en\/press-releases\/2025\/09\/israel-has-committed-genocide-gaza-strip-un-commission-finds\">United Nations<\/a>. The University has consistently <a href=\"https:\/\/publicaffairs.vpcomm.umich.edu\/key-issues\/divestment\/\">refused<\/a> demands for divestment and financial transparency.<\/p>\n<p>Peterson also told graduates to remember historical activists and social movements. These included <a href=\"https:\/\/heritage.umich.edu\/stories\/no-admittance\/\">Sarah Burger<\/a>, a suffragette who campaigned for the University to accept women in 1858; <a href=\"https:\/\/inclusivehistory.umich.edu\/project-site\/outsiders-insiders-radicals-and-reformers\/\">Moritz Levi<\/a>, who fought against antisemitism as one of the University\u2019s first Jewish faculty members in 1896; and the <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.lib.umich.edu\/online-exhibits\/exhibits\/show\/history-of-the-william-monroe-\/the-black-action-movements\">Black Action Movement<\/a> of the 1970s and 80s, which fought for the rights of students of Color on campus.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-1    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThe greatness of this institution does not only rest on the shoulders and on the accomplishments of our student athletes, who deserve all the congratulations we can offer them,\u201d Peterson said. \u201cThe greatness of this university rests also on the courage and the conviction of student activists who have pushed this university down the path towards justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Following the commencement ceremony, excerpts of Peterson\u2019s speech quickly spread across social media. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DX2q3DTR3U6\/\">Instagram post<\/a> by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nationalsjp\/\">Students for Justice in Palestine<\/a> praising his remarks currently has 430,000 views, and a <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/StopAntisemites\/status\/2050628069300277267\">post to X<\/a> by <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/StopAntisemites\">StopAntisemitism<\/a> calling for Peterson to be fired currently has 1.9 million views.<\/p>\n<p>In an email to The Michigan Daily, Peterson wrote that he believes his statements have recieved an excessive amount of controversy online.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt should not be controversial to have one\u2019s \u2018heart opened to the inhumanity and injustice of Israel\u2019s war in Gaza\u2019, which is what I credited activists with doing,\u201d Peterson wrote. \u201cHaving an open heart to other people\u2019s suffering is a fundamental human virtue, and it is a quality that I hope we teach our students, whatever their political posture might be.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The University has previously reacted <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/administration\/oscr-charges-against-11-student-activists\/\">negatively<\/a> toward pro-Palestine student activists at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/administration\/you-are-funding-genocide-tahrir-members-protest-during-101st-annual-honors-convocation\/\">commencement<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/news-briefs\/three-pro-palestine-activists-arrested-for-protesting-speech-given-by-former-israeli-soldiers\/\">elsewhere<\/a>, and Peterson\u2019s speech received a similar response. The University\u2019s commencement <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ciDNaDCnW-k\">recording<\/a> has since been removed from YouTube, and University President Domenico Grasso issued a statement <a href=\"https:\/\/president.umich.edu\/news-communications\/statements\/spring-2026-commencement-sacua-chair-address-response\/\">apologizing<\/a> for Peterson\u2019s remarks, calling them \u201churtful and insensitive.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-2    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cEveryone in our community is entitled to their own views; but this was neither the time nor the place,\u201d Grasso wrote. \u201cCommencement is a time of celebration, recognition and unity. The Chair\u2019s remarks were expected to be congratulatory, not a platform for personal or political expression. Introducing such commentary in this setting was inappropriate and did not align with the purpose of the occasion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When asked about his reaction to the issued statement, Peterson told The Daily he has had a productive working relationship with Grasso, but wrote that it was \u201cnot his finest hour.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Grasso\u2019s statement has received backlash from the U-M community. The day after commencement, several faculty members wrote an <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/document\/d\/1PMfkVP_vp1vEw6rbAvGBnVKzbn_DLn3tGEyytvafnRc\/edit?tab=t.0\">open letter<\/a> demanding Grasso retract his statement and apologize to Peterson. The letter says Peterson\u2019s remarks were an appropriate celebration of the University\u2019s students and values.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cProfessor Peterson\u2019s remarks were thoughtful, informed, instructive, and ethically rich,\u201d the letter read. \u201cPresident Grasso\u2019s response was none of that. It represents a sad abrogation of the ideals and principles which should have been upheld and celebrated on the dais and from the Office of the President. President Grasso and those who compelled him to issue his unfortunate statement would do well to go back and rewatch Professor Peterson\u2019s speech, this time listening for what they can learn, from history and about the future.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At press time more than 600 students, faculty and staff have signed their names to the letter.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"scaip scaip-3    \">\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><em>Daily News Editor Glenn Hedin can be reached at <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigandaily.com\/news\/news-briefs\/outgoing-faculty-senate-chair-derek-peterson-praises-pro-palestine-activists-in-commencement-speech\/mailto:heglenn@umich.edu\"><em>heglenn@umich.edu<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<aside>\n\t\t<\/aside>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related articles<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While delivering his speech at the University of Michigan\u2019s spring 2026 commencement ceremony, history professor Derek Peterson, outgoing chair of the University of Michigan\u2019s Faculty Senate and Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, told graduates to remember pro-Palestine student activists when singing the University\u2019s fight song. \u201cSing for the pro-Palestinian student activists, who have over [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[2409,4618,1256,351,4619,656,87],"class_list":{"0":"post-5034","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-activists","9":"tag-chair","10":"tag-commencement","11":"tag-faculty","12":"tag-praises","13":"tag-senate","14":"tag-student"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5034"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5036,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5034\/revisions\/5036"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}