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New York University is withholding the diploma of a graduating senior who used his commencement speech to condemn the genocide in Gaza.

The student, Logan Rozos, was selected by his peers at NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualised Study to deliver the graduation address, in which he sharply criticised Israel’s military campaign and US support for it, prompting disciplinary action from university officials, CNN reported.

“As I search my heart today in addressing you all…the only thing that is appropriate to say in this time and to a group this large is a recognition of the atrocities currently happening in Palestine,” Rozos told classmates during Wednesday’s ceremony.

He characterised the violence in Gaza as “genocide,” describing it as “politically and militarily supported by the United States and paid for by our tax dollars.”

The speech was met with cheers from the audience. It also received a brief applause from some faculty members seated on stage. Still, the NYU administration strongly condemned the address.

University spokesperson John Beckman said Rozos had misrepresented the contents of his speech and broken a commitment to comply with school rules regarding the event.

“The student speaker lied about the speech he was going to deliver and violated the commitment he made to comply with our rules,” Beckman said in a statement. “The university is withholding his diploma while we pursue disciplinary actions.”

Beckman expressed regret that the ceremony had been, in the university’s view, hijacked by a “political diatribe” and said NYU was “deeply sorry that the audience was subjected to these remarks.”

Rozos, a Cultural Criticism and Political Economy major and a member of the Gallatin Theater Troupe, has not publicly commented on the university’s decision. According to the Associated Press, he was chosen to speak by fellow students, a tradition at Gallatin to amplify students’ voices and freedom of expression.

The incident comes amid a tense national climate on university campuses, as pro-Palestinian activism has surged in the wake of continued violence in Gaza.

Reactions to Rozos’ speech and NYU’s response have been sharply divided.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) condemned Rozos’ comments as “divisive and false,” applauding NYU for what it called a strong and appropriate response. On the other hand, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) defended the speech as a “pro-Palestinian, anti-genocide commencement address” and called on the university to immediately release Rozos’ diploma.

“Punishing students for standing against genocide is a betrayal to American freedoms and the American people,” CAIR said in a statement.

The controversy is just the latest in a series of free speech flashpoints at NYU. In 2024, the university filed over 180 conduct cases against students and faculty involved in Gaza-related protests, according to reporting by the student newspaper Washington Square News. Arrests were made during demonstrations, and tensions between the administration and student activists have remained high.