The College of Staten Island decided to prerecord everyone’s speeches which led to protests.
By: Gianna Liantonio
On Wednesday May 28, 2025, The College of Staten Island held commencement on the Great Lawn. There were 2,166 students that graduated, including this year’s salutatorian and valedictorian. As I sat and watched the speeches, I heard voices somewhere and would soon find out that the way these speeches were presented did not go over well with everyone.
The students had their speeches recorded and played on a big screen for everyone to hear. Along with the salutatorian Santos Hana, B.S. in Science, valedictorian Neebal Abuhamdeh, B.A. in English, an honorary degree was presented to Colin Jost, actor and comedian and Staten Island native, and Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, New York State Senator and an alumni of CSI, congratulated everyone.
During the ceremony, a group of protestors gathered and chanted during certain parts of the ceremony, including the speeches. Neebal Abuhamdeh is a first- generation college student who is Palestinian-American. She talked about all she accomplished with being a full time college student with a job, husband and four kids. The way this speech was prerecorded did not sit well with the protesters and felt this was preventing an authentic feel in the moment of the speech. The first amendment states that everyone has a right to a peaceful protest, but the situation did almost escalate when they started to get detained by the NYPD. However, Public Safety Officers of CUNY allowed them to stay in the back and continue their protest as they were not hurting anyone.
An email was sent in response to the protest:
Dear HHS Colleagues,
The CSI PSC-CUNY EC’s statement regarding the May 2025 Commencement Exercises at the College of Staten Island is below.
In Solidarity,
Jonathan Cope
CSI PSC Chapter Chair
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The CSI PSC EC is deeply concerned about aspects of this year’s commencement. While we recognize the administration’s authority to determine commencement protocols, we believe the decision to have the valedictorian’s speech pre recorded created an unfortunate disparity in how different voices were presented. This approach, regardless of intent, undermined the sense of authentic celebration that defines commencement
We extend our gratitude to the members of the faculty who worked to deescalate the conflict that erupted in the audience, and the restraint our Public Safety personnel exhibited in allowing them to remain near the ceremony and to continue their nonviolent protest. We are concerned that restraint may not have been matched by the NYPD personnel on campus. We appreciate any help we can get from our academic community to gather and analyze the details of what occured over the summer break.
As educators, we are deeply committed to the values of critical inquiry, free expression, and the right to peaceful protest—especially in moments of political urgency. When those values are suppressed, not only are our students harmed, but the integrity of our university is compromised.
We look forward to hearing the rationale behind the President’s decisions about commencement at the first meeting of the College Council in the Fall, when all teaching faculty are back.
We do expect that the administration can publicly recommit to these foundational principles: to uphold free speech, to protect nonviolent protest, and to ensure that all members of the CUNY community are treated equally under campus policy, regardless of viewpoint. The University must not allow itself to be swayed by external pressures that undermine the rights and dignity of its students.
We view commencement not just as a ceremony but as an expression of our institutional values – values that include authentic dialogue, equitable treatment, and meaningful inclusion of all community members. We hope to work collaboratively with the administration to ensure future ceremonies fully reflect these principles.
– The Executive Committee of the College of Staten Island Professional Staff Congress-CUNY
As the email stated, they will await to hear the president’s response on why the college chose to present these speeches virtually rather than have the candidates walk up to the stage and say their speeches.
