Seniors Wear White Flowers To Support International Students

Hundreds of graduating seniors arrived at Harvard Yard this morning with white flowers pinned to their gowns — a quiet but powerful gesture of support for the University’s international student body.

The initiative, organized by a group of international students at Harvard College, saw over 800 white flowers distributed across dining halls and residential Houses ahead of Commencement.

Organizers described the flower as an “apolitical symbol of unity among peers,” emphasizing that international students “should never have been part of this political situation in the first place.”

Graduates were encouraged to wear the flower regardless of background — as a sign of solidarity and support.

“Thank you for standing up for the international community at Harvard,” the group wrote in a message shared widely among students.

Some graduates arrived this morning wearing keffiyehs and decorated mortarboards bearing messages like “Free Palestine” and “Disclose, Divest.” A few held signs and banners near the entrances to Harvard Yard, including one reading “Stop the Genocide in Gaza.”

A student wore a cap with a pro-Palestine message at Harvard’s Commencement ceremony for the Class of 2025. By Jina H. Choe

While the statements remain a visible part of Commencement, the scale is smaller than last year, when keffiyehs and coordinated displays of solidarity were widespread across House processions. This year, expressions of support appear more individual — quieter, but still resolute.

—Staff writer William C. Mao contributed reporting.

—Staff writer Grace E. Yoon can be reached at grace.yoon@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X @graceunkyoon.

—Staff writer Dhruv T. Patel can be reached at dhruv.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on X @dhruvtkpatel.