Stanford Grads Walk Out on Google CEO’s Commencement Speech
More than 100 Stanford graduates walked out of their commencement ceremony as Google CEO Sundar Pichai spoke, protesting the company's $1.2 billion cloud services contract with Israel.
The demonstration was orchestrated by Students for Justice in Palestine and No Tech for Apartheid, according to Breitbart News. Video footage circulated on social media captured the graduates rising from their seats and marching out while chanting “Free, free Palestine,” with several displaying Palestinian flags.
Sundar Pichai, himself a Stanford alumnus, continued delivering his address despite the disruption during the Sunday ceremony.
The far-left campus organizations behind the walkout have previously promoted social media influencers in Gaza who openly celebrated the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel that resulted in the massacre of Jewish civilians, Breitbart News reports.
At the heart of the protest lies Project Nimbus, a $1.2 billion contract under which Google and Amazon provide cloud data services to the Israeli military and government. The arrangement has sparked controversy since 2021, when a coalition of employees from both tech companies published an open letter condemning their employers’ decision to supply Israel with the technology.
Google has taken a hard line against internal opposition to the contract. In 2024, the company terminated 28 employees who participated in sit-in protests at its New York and California offices over Project Nimbus.
The Stanford walkout represents the latest in a wave of disruptions targeting Big Tech executives at graduation ceremonies this year. Former Google CEO and major Democrat donor Eric Schmidt faced widespread booing from University of Arizona graduates last month during his commencement speech about young people’s concerns regarding artificial intelligence.
In contrast, Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak received an enthusiastic reception at Grand Valley State University’s graduation ceremony last month, where he championed the superiority of human intelligence over AI.
Despite the walkout, Pichai reportedly pressed forward with his prepared remarks, which focused on the importance of adapting to technological change.
With information from Breitbart News
