Stanford Graduates Walk Out During Pichai Speech but Ceremony Continues
Over 100 graduates left Stanford Stadium on June 14 as Google CEO Sundar Pichai began his speech. The walkout occurred during the university’s 135th commencement ceremony.
More than 100 graduates walked out of Stanford Stadium during the university’s 135th commencement ceremony on June 14, 2026, as Google CEO Sundar Pichai began his address. Some attendees booed and shouted “shame on you” as Pichai spoke. The protest was organized by Students for Justice in Palestine and No Tech for Apartheid.
Graduates chanted “Free, free Palestine” while walking out. 2 billion cloud computing contract held jointly with Amazon to supply services to the Israeli government. Google states that the contract covers government cloud services.
Pichai, who earned a master’s degree in materials science and engineering from Stanford in 1995, has led Google since 2015. He was selected earlier in 2026 to deliver the keynote address. He continued speaking despite the interruptions.
Pichai told graduates, “I know today is about giving you all advice. ” “That’s exactly what I mean by choosing optimism,” he said. ” Pichai made no mention of artificial intelligence during the speech, which focused on choosing optimism and adapting to change.
Google fired dozens of employees in 2024 after sit-ins at offices in California and New York protesting the contract. Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt was booed during a May 2026 commencement address at the University of Arizona.
