Of Course They Booed
Graduating students are expressing discontent during commencement ceremonies, particularly towards the emphasis on an AI-driven future. Despite their hard work and achievements, they face a bleak job market that contradicts the promises made to them. This irony has led to a chorus of boos directed at speakers who promote the very technology that seems to threaten their future prospects.
- ▪Graduating students booed speakers discussing an AI-driven future at commencement ceremonies.
- ▪Many students feel disillusioned as they face a challenging job market despite their academic efforts.
- ▪The irony lies in the fact that these students, often labeled as 'digital natives', are now being rejected by the very technology they are familiar with.
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Of Course They Booed Audrey Watters 23 May 2026 — 8 min read Share Vulturine Guineafowl (Image credits) Every spring, we get a flood of stories about college graduation ceremonies -- typically full of tut-tutting about inappropriate behavior or inappropriate speech -- always presented as synecdochical of all of higher ed. Oh sure sure, there’s often the odd tale of triumph: someone’s service dog gets a diploma; someone in their 70s finishes medical school. But mostly these stories serve to reinforce other, more dour narratives about college students -- unprepared, entitled, intolerant -- and about college itself -- irreverent, irrelevant.This year, despite a brief attempt to gin up controversy surrounding NYU’s selection of Jonathan Haidt as its commencement speaker – sigh, yet another…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Second Breakfast.
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