Skip to content
ADVERTISEMENT
Sign In
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
  • More
  • Sections
    • News
    • Advice
    • The Review
  • Topics
    • Data
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
    • Finance & Operations
    • International
    • Leadership & Governance
    • Teaching & Learning
    • Scholarship & Research
    • Student Success
    • Technology
    • Transitions
    • The Workplace
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Special Issues
    • Podcast: College Matters from The Chronicle
  • Newsletters
  • Virtual Events
  • Ask Chron
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Professional Development
    • Career Resources
    • Virtual Career Fair
    Upcoming Events:
    A Culture of Cybersecurity
    Opportunities in the Hard Sciences
    Career Preparation
Sign In
Speaking Out

‘Appallingly Coarse and Deliberately Abusive’: University President Condemns Students’ Commencement Protest

By Kate Hidalgo Bellows May 31, 2023
A person in a commencement cap and gown, front, stands arms-crossed near protesters supporting the Hollywood writers’ strike outside an entrance to Boston University commencement ceremonies, Sunday, May 21, 2023, in Boston.
Protesters supporting the Hollywood writers’ strike picketed last week outside an entrance to Boston University’s commencement.Steven Senne, AP

The president of Boston University on Wednesday published a forceful statement chastising students for heckling the commencement speaker at their graduation last week.

“Our students were not picking a fight,” the president, Robert A. Brown, wrote in BU Today, an in-house publication. “They were attempting to implement the cancel culture that has become all too prevalent on university campuses.”

The university had invited David Zaslav, chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, to address graduating students and their families. Members of the Writers Guild of America have been on strike for nearly a month after contract negotiations with eight major Hollywood studios, including Warner Bros. Discovery, fell apart. The guild represents television and film writers, who are demanding better pay and regulations on the use of artificial intelligence.

To continue reading for FREE, please sign in.

Sign In

Or subscribe now to read with unlimited access for as low as $10/month.

Don’t have an account? Sign up now.

A free account provides you access to a limited number of free articles each month, plus newsletters, job postings, salary data, and exclusive store discounts.

Sign Up

The president of Boston University on Wednesday published a forceful statement chastising students for heckling the commencement speaker at their graduation last week.

“Our students were not picking a fight,” the president, Robert A. Brown, wrote in BU Today, an in-house publication. “They were attempting to implement the cancel culture that has become all too prevalent on university campuses.”

The university had invited David Zaslav, chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, to address graduating students and their families. Members of the Writers Guild of America have been on strike for nearly a month after contract negotiations with eight major Hollywood studios, including Warner Bros. Discovery, fell apart. The guild represents television and film writers, who are demanding better pay and regulations on the use of artificial intelligence.

According to Brown, Zaslav was invited “long before” the strike began.

As Zaslav spoke, protesters booed and chanted, “Pay your writers!” Some turned their backs to him. Others jeered profanely. Zaslav, an alumnus of the university’s School of Law, continued his speech and was awarded an honorary degree.

In his statement, Brown apologized to Zaslav for the “unruly” behavior of the students, who he noted were only a minority of the 23,000 commencement attendees.

The attempt to silence a speaker with obscene shouts is a resort to gain power, not reason.

“The students who were appallingly coarse and deliberately abusive to Mr. Zaslav were entitled to attend commencement because they were being awarded degrees that they earned from Boston University,” Brown said. “They sought to make a statement, out of passionate conviction, but in the moment, they forgot that in a liberal democracy, personal autonomy and freedom of speech come with responsibilities,” including “respect for the speech rights of others.”

Brown said his office had received hundreds of emails before commencement calling on the university to disinvite Zaslav. The messages, which were largely identical, asked the university to “cancel” the speaker, the president said.

“The attempt to silence a speaker with obscene shouts is a resort to gain power, not reason, and antithetical to the mission and purposes of a university,” Brown said.

With his sharp critique of students’ speech, Brown joined a handful of campus leaders who have recently taken more forthright positions in defense of free expression. That group includes the dean of Stanford Law School, who upbraided students for shouting down a conservative federal judge invited to speak by a student group, and the president of Cornell University, who shot down a student-council resolution that demanded mandatory trigger warnings on class materials.

Brown is stepping down in July after leading Boston University for 18 years. A spokeswoman for Warner Bros. Discovery referred The Chronicle to a statement Zaslav made on the day of commencement. It expressed gratitude to the university, support for the writers, and hope that the strike would be resolved soon.

We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
Tags
Free Speech Leadership & Governance
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
Kate Hidalgo Bellows, staff writer for the Chronicle of Higher Education.
About the Author
Kate Hidalgo Bellows
Kate Hidalgo Bellows is a staff reporter at The Chronicle. Follow her on Twitter @katebellows, or email her at kate.hidalgobellows@chronicle.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

More News

Harvard University
'Deeply Unsettling'
Harvard’s Battle With Trump Escalates as Research Money Is Suddenly Canceled
Photo-based illustration of a hand and a magnifying glass focusing on a scene from Western Carolina Universiy
Equal Opportunity
The Trump Administration Widens Its Scrutiny of Colleges, With Help From the Internet
Santa J. Ono, president of the University of Michigan, watches a basketball game on the campus in November 2022.
'He Is a Chameleon'
At U. of Michigan, Frustrations Grew Over a President Who Couldn’t Be Pinned Down
Photo-based illustration of University of Michigan's president Jeremy Santa Ono emerging from a red shape of Florida
Leadership
A Major College-President Transition Is Defined by an About-Face on DEI

From The Review

Illustration showing a valedictorian speaker who's tassel is a vintage microphone
The Review | Opinion
A Graduation Speaker Gets Canceled
By Corey Robin
Illustration showing a stack of coins and a university building falling over
The Review | Opinion
Here’s What Congress’s Endowment-Tax Plan Might Cost Your College
By Phillip Levine
Photo-based illustration of a college building under an upside down baby crib
The Review | Opinion
Colleges Must Stop Infantilizing Everyone
By Gregory Conti

Upcoming Events

Ascendium_06-10-25_Plain.png
Views on College and Alternative Pathways
Coursera_06-17-25_Plain.png
AI and Microcredentials
  • Explore Content
    • Latest News
    • Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Professional Development
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Chronicle Intelligence
    • Jobs in Higher Education
    • Post a Job
  • Know The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • Vision, Mission, Values
    • DEI at The Chronicle
    • Write for Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • Our Reporting Process
    • Advertise With Us
    • Brand Studio
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Account and Access
    • Manage Your Account
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Group and Institutional Access
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
  • Get Support
    • Contact Us
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • User Agreement
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2025 The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education is academe’s most trusted resource for independent journalism, career development, and forward-looking intelligence. Our readers lead, teach, learn, and innovate with insights from The Chronicle.
Follow Us
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin