Rutgers University celebrated graduates ranging in age from 18 to 85 at its commencement on Sunday in a ceremony that included a small group of pro-Palestinian protesters.
The field at SHI Stadium on Rutgers’ New Brunswick-Piscataway campus was full of graduates in red and black robes taking part in a tradition in place since the American Revolution.
The 259th commencement celebrated 13,133 graduates receiving degrees from Rutgers University-New Brunswick and Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences.
It was the largest of Rutgers’ graduation events being held this month around the state. Rutgers-Camden will hold its ceremony Tuesday and Rutgers-Newark will hold its commencement Thursday.
In total, Rutgers will hand out degrees to nearly 18,000 graduates statewide.
Rutgers University Student Assembly President Jack Ramirez acknowledged the many challenges he and his peers faced to get to graduation.
“We marched in the streets for social justice reforms, organized mutual aid organizations for our communities in times of need,” Ramirez said.
A group of six students walked out after Ramirez spoke, chanting “Free Palestine.” But the event continued without pause.
A few other students waved large Palestinian flags throughout the event.
At the beginning of the proceedings, the announcer notified the crowd that disruptions to the proceedings would not be tolerated.
The walkout was similar to a much-larger pro-Palestinian demonstration at last year’s Rutger commencement. That followed a high-profile pro-Palestinian encampment on the New Brunswick campus for several days last spring.
Rutgers President Jonathan Holloway was later criticized for how the university handled the pro-Palestinian student encampment, and was called before Congress to testify about the incident.
Holloway announced his intention to step down as president last September, citing the safety of his family as a concern.
While in office, he faced several challenges including the school’s first faculty strike and a no-confidence vote by the Rutgers University Senate.
Holloway‘s replacement as Rutgers president is expected to be named Monday after a nationwide search.
Early in the commencement ceremony, Rutgers Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Prabhas V. Moghe welcomed graduates. He explained that Holloway would not be present.
“I bring you warm greetings from our President Jonathan Holloway, who is here in spirit,” Moghe said. “He is watching over his son graduating from college today in another state.”
Commencement speaker Peter Seligmann, a 1972 Rutgers alumnus and first-generation American, shared stories from his life and offered graduates some advice.
He said his parents, who escaped Nazi Germany, might not have settled in the United States under the current climate.
“I am not sure that they would make our country the homeland that they would choose to go to,” Seligmann said. “This shift in tone and intolerance should concern all of us.”
Rutgers University Commencement festivities at SHI Stadium in Piscataway.Steve Hockstein | For NJ Advance
In 1987, Seligmann, along with several colleagues, founded Conservation International, where he served as CEO until 2017.
Seligmann’s speech was particularly popular with students from the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, who waved their green flags throughout his remarks.
“There is not just one answer to the challenges we face with the environment and actually with everything else.” Seligmann said. “We need a mix of solutions.”
This year, Rutgers’ graduates spanned the generations and included the state university’s oldest-ever graduate in any degree program.
Tom Maniscalco, 85, spent the last six years working to earn his master‘s degree in engineering. He picked up his degree at a separate ceremony last week.
Alex Geppert, 18, was the youngest graduate. He was scheduled to receive a bachelor‘s degree with a double major in computer science and data science. Next year, he starts a master‘s program at the University of Wisconsin and plans to go on to get his Ph.D studying artificial intelligence.
During the ceremony, the university awarded honorary degrees to Rajiv Vinnakota, the president of the Institute for Citizens & Scholars, and Laurie Patton, president of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences.
Of the total 17,916 Rutgers graduates across all of the campuses, 4,699 earned master‘s degrees, 1,898 will receive doctorates and 82 graduates completed professional certificates, the university said.
Those graduates include the 4,783 that will be honored in separate ceremonies at Rutgers-Newark and Rutgers-Camden later this week.
Rutgers alumnus Ramy Youssef— who won a Golden Globe for starring in Hulu’s “Ramy”— will speak at Rutgers-Newark’s graduation on May 22 at the Prudential Center in Newark.
Artist Mickalene Thomas will speak at Rutgers University-Camden‘s ceremony on May 20 at the Freedom Mortgage Pavilion in Camden.
Among the students waiting to participate in the tradition of Rutgers students ringing the Red Lion Bell at the ceremony in Piscataway was Nirjal Thapa, a Rutgers transfer student celebrating the completion of his bachelor‘s in political science.
Thapa, who moved to New Jersey from Nepal when he was three, said he was thinking about his family sitting in the stands.
“Coming from an immigrant family,” Thapa said. “My dedication, my hard work, my perseverance comes from my parents.”
Stories by Liz Rosenberg
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Liz Rosenberg may be reached at lrosenberg@njadvancemedia.com.