00:00I learned that judges depend on allies, on protesters, public officials, and people like
00:07us to take decisions that protect democracy.
00:12At the same time, I saw thousands of people arrested as the president abused emergency
00:18powers to purge judges and imprison opponents.
00:22In that moment of uncertainty, Harvard rose up.
00:28Even if the government would not fund my research, Harvard would, at least temporarily.
00:35Believe it or not, this is my 10th year at Harvard.
00:50I've been here so long, my parents don't even brag anymore.
00:58In my decade at this university, the most important thing I've learned is about the
01:05promise of a university, of a place where we have the freedom to ask questions, rethink
01:14the status quo, and learn from one another.
01:19When I was an undergraduate here, I interned for the U.S. State Department in Turkey.
01:26One night that summer, I watched as tanks blockaded a nearby bridge.
01:33Turkey's military was staging a coup attempt.
01:38When the elected government prevailed over the coup plotters, I saw citizens celebrating
01:43the triumph of democracy.
01:47At the same time, I saw thousands of people arrested as the president abused emergency powers
01:54to purge judges and imprison opponents.
02:00In the aftermath, I couldn't stop thinking about two questions.
02:07Why was democracy in danger?
02:10And what could we do to protect democracy?
02:15I came back to Harvard as a graduate student because I had this problem I needed to solve.
02:22At the start of my Ph.D. studying political science, I received a grant from the U.S. government.
02:30With support from the National Science Foundation, I had the freedom to spend a full year interviewing
02:36judges on high courts in both Turkey and Israel.
02:40Those interviews gave me new answers to my questions.
02:45They sharpened my focus on understanding why courts defend democracy or undermine it instead.
02:56I discovered that even independent courts sometimes damage democracy.
03:03I learned that judges depend on allies, on protesters, public officials, and people like us to take decisions that protect
03:14democracy.
03:18Now, when I'm not agonizing over democracy, I love going to the gym with friends.
03:25One day last spring, I was at Hemingway Gym with my friend Brandon, a Ph.D. student in chemistry.
03:33On that day, I saw a look of pain on my friend's face, so I asked how he was.
03:42My friend had lost his grant.
03:46As the government pulled back funding, his chemistry lab, which studies the basic science used to make medicines and clean
03:54energy, was facing deep cuts.
04:00I went home from the gym feeling upset for my friend, only to find out that my grant also had
04:10been cut.
04:15We all came to Harvard with our own goals, dreams, and passions.
04:23Now I had to ask myself, would we still have the freedom to pursue our education?
04:31Would we still be able to research, teach, and learn without the foundational support of our government?
04:44In that moment of uncertainty, Harvard rose up.
04:48Even if the government would not fund my research, Harvard would, at least temporarily.
05:05Harvard defended our rights in court.
05:09Last fall, a judge in Boston ruled that the government's efforts to take away research funding violated our rights to
05:18free speech and due process.
05:29My friend's grants and my own were restored, and today, my friend Brandon and I will graduate with our PhDs.
05:49You know, Brandon and I actually have a lot in common.
05:53Chemical science, political science, it's basically the same thing.
05:59Right, Brandon?
06:05As we all celebrate this milestone, I am grateful to my friends, my teachers, and my family for supporting me
06:16through every challenge and triumph.
06:20I am grateful to Harvard and to a judge in Boston for protecting our research and our rights.
06:28I am grateful to so many of you here for believing in the promise of education.
06:37Today, that belief in higher education is under fire, and universities are facing questions.
06:45In my time at Harvard, I have felt conflicting emotions.
06:51And I have wondered, are universities truly for all of us?
06:59Are universities protecting our rights to speak, learn, and protest?
07:07Or, are universities teaching students to be silent?
07:13At Harvard, I have also been a student worker, and a member of our union.
07:18And I have wondered, are universities treating their workers well?
07:46We must engage with all these questions.
07:51That's the purpose of this place.
07:56At universities, we ask and engage with questions.
08:02We view feedback and failure as opportunities for growth.
08:12The past few years have put the ideals of our university to the test.
08:18And Harvard did not get an A.
08:22Our university must do more to protect academic freedom and free speech rather than restrict them.
08:40Our university must improve its efforts to support students from different backgrounds rather than pull back.
08:54Above all, we must speak up for the promise of the university, even and especially when we fall short of
09:04that ideal.
09:08Look around you, in this yard, at the people gathered from around the country and around the world.
09:18Don't we all feel in awe of the ideal of the university?
09:25Before I go, I want to connect the dots between my experience at this university and my work on democracy.
09:37The vitality of our universities and the health of our democracy are not disconnected.
09:43They are deeply intertwined.
09:47Both our universities and our democracy depend on our freedom of speech.
09:54In my time at Harvard, too many of my friends have felt afraid.
10:03Many of my friends are international students.
10:06They feared that taking a leadership position or attending a protest would put them at risk.
10:15Many of my classmates are young scientists.
10:19They felt scared that if they signed a petition, they could be rejected for government grants.
10:26When students self-censor, when professors fear being punished,
10:34when scientists worry that research funding is allocated based on politics,
10:39our universities will not produce the next great artist, doctor, scientist, educator, lawyer, entrepreneur, public servant, or innovator.
11:04When students, teachers, and university leaders are afraid to speak,
11:11we lose the freedoms at the heart of our democracy.
11:16Our universities and our democracy depend on one another.
11:21We must speak in defense of both.
11:26We must speak in defense of both.
11:37Graduates, may we never stop asking questions, rethinking the status quo, and learning from one another.
11:48May we live up to the promise of our education.
12:11Thank you, thank you.
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