Hundreds of students at Stanford University staged a walkout during their commencement ceremony, taking a stand against their speaker, Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google and Alphabet. Local reports indicated that approximately 200 students left as Pichai began his speech. Many participating carried Palestinian flags, symbolizing their protest.

The hostility towards Pichai stemmed from Google’s involvement in ‘Project Nimbus,’ a $1.2 billion cloud agreement with Amazon, linked with the Israeli government. Announced in 2021, the deal has faced backlash from those opposed to Israeli policies.

This protest continued a pattern at Stanford. In prior years, students have demonstrated against commencement speakers, notably during Katie Ledecky’s speech, due to perceived ties to Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Despite the walkout, Pichai’s address remained largely non-political. Unlike the former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who faced booing for discussing artificial intelligence at another university, Pichai focused on resilience. He acknowledged current global conflicts and changes, reminding graduates that each generation faces its own challenges.

“We don’t get to choose the world we graduate into, but we do get to choose how we frame our circumstances,” Pichai articulated, urging students to maintain optimism.

Anti-Israel protests have been a recurring issue at Stanford. In 2024, a group of protesters occupied the university president’s office, demanding action in support of Palestine. This mirrors similar movements across other campuses, raising questions about university responses to protests.