As Harvard University seeks to convince the federal government that its antisemitism problem is under control, the university is slated to honor at its upcoming commencement a divinity school graduate who was charged with assaulting a Jewish student at an anti-Israel protest. 

Come Thursday morning, Elom Tettey-Tamaklo will lead the flock of divinity school graduates as they march in Harvard’s university-wide graduation procession. Serving as the face of his graduating class, the 28-year-old Harvard grad will guide his fellow students to Harvard Yard, the spot on campus that hosts the main commencement activities. 

Mr. Tettey-Tamaklo was handed the honorable responsibility after his classmates voted him in as class marshal, the Free Press reported. According to his LinkedIn page, the soon-to-be Harvard graduate will receive a master’s degree in religion, ethics, and politics. His research focuses on “Exploring the role of religious interpretation and how that impacts how laws are shaped and adhered to with a specific focus on Israel-Palestine,” he notes.  

Mr. Tettey-Tamaklo, having enrolled at Harvard’s divinity school in 2022, was meant to graduate with the class of 2024. His graduation was delayed, however, when he and a fellow Harvard graduate student were charged with assault and battery in May 2024 for their involvement in a confrontation with a Jewish student in October 2023.

The incident occurred when a Harvard business school student, Yoav Segev, who is Jewish and Israeli, walked through a “die-in” protest that was staged on the business school’s campus two weeks after Hamas’s deadly October 7 attack. Mr. Segev was immediately approached by several students who used their bodies and their Keffiyehs to form a physical blockade around him. 

A video of the altercation shows the group of protesters surrounding Mr. Segev and jostling him as he shouts out, “Don’t grab me,” and, “Don’t touch my neck.” They then begin to taunt him with chants like, “Exit! Exit! Show him the exit!” and “Shame! Shame! Shame!” Protesters on the ground nearby were filmed joining in. 

By the time that Mr. Segev met with Harvard police officers to file a formal complaint, footage of the incident had gone viral. A few days later, several high-profile Harvard business school alumni, including Senator Romney, issued a letter to the school urging it to discipline rule-breaking students. Amid the fallout, Mr. Tettey-Tamaklo was indefinitely suspended from his position as a Harvard College proctor. 

The case came to a close this past April when a Massachusetts judge ordered Mr. Tettey-Tamaklo and his fellow assailant, Ibrahim Bharmal, a dual Harvard law and business school graduate student, to perform 80 hours of community service and complete an anger management program. The order allowed the students to avoid facing a trial as well as a criminal conviction on their record — assuming they complete the service as directed.

The university, however, chose not to expel or even suspend either of the students. To the contrary, Mr. Bharmal was awarded a prestigious $65,000 public-interest law fellowship from the Harvard Law Review. Mr. Tettey-Tamaklo was named class marshal. 

When asked about Mr. Tettey-Tamaklo’s role in Harvard’s upcoming graduation ceremony, Harvard divinity school’s media relations lead, Tyler Sprouse, reiterated in an email to The New York Sun: “Harvard Divinity School administration and faculty are not involved in the selection of class marshals. They are selected through a democratic, student-led process in which members of the graduating class nominate and vote for their peers.” Mr. Sprouse added that the chosen students “serve in limited ceremonial roles during Commencement.” 

Still, Mr. Tettey-Tamaklo’s controversial involvement in Harvard’s commencement ceremony may offer the federal government additional ammo as it seeks to hold Harvard responsible for its failure to address rampant antisemitism and anti-conservative bias on campus. Since Harvard shot down a list of policy demands issued by the government in April, the administration has targeted the university on nearly every front — from revoking its tax-exempt status to disqualifying the school from all future federal grants to barring it from enrolling foreign students. 

Harvard is also likely to face scrutiny over its handling of any anti-Israel protests that erupt during Thursday’s ceremony. Harvard’s anti-Israel student groups are already rousing their followers to “flood commencement” with Keffiyehs and graduation caps decorated with anti-Israel messages to “show your solidarity with the Palestinian struggle,” according to fliers shared on social media. The coalition of undergraduate and graduate student groups condemns Harvard’s refusal to divest from investments “in Israel’s genocidal regime” and lament that “there are no universities left in Gaza.” 

Although Thursday’s ceremony will bring an end to Harvard’s academic year, its legal battles with the government are expected to continue well into the summer. The first lawsuit, filed by Harvard in April, challenges the government’s federal funding freeze. The second, which came a month later, takes aim at the administration’s ban on foreign student enrollment.