Commencement Speakers Tell Class of 2025 to ‘Stand Boldly’ and Thank Their People

President Christopher Eisgruber ’83 spoke up for American higher education in his Commencement address to Princeton’s graduates May 27, citing a “persistent tension” between scholarly institutions and our broader society, present today in both public opinion and government policies.

“The creativity that universities cultivate, the idiosyncrasies that we tolerate, and the speculative or esoteric research that we cherish — all of these can put universities at odds with the more pragmatic culture around us and thereby jeopardize the academic freedom on which our institutions vitally depend,” he said.

“In this tender and pivotal moment, we must stand boldly for the freedoms and principles that define this and other great universities.”

Though Eisgruber’s references to policies were not specific, the context was clear enough for his audience, which responded with loud applause. The morning of the ceremony, the Trump administration announced its latest salvo of funding cuts to one of Princeton’s peers, sending a letter to federal agencies that instructed them to cancel all contracts with Harvard. Princeton likewise has been subject to federal funding cuts in recent months.

Eisgruber also pushed back on calls for “institutional neutrality,” voicing his concern that it can be seen as a requirement for universities to be not merely impartial but also innocuous. “Universities might be less vulnerable to criticism and attack if they were bland, innocuous, and neutral, but then they would not be true universities,” he said.

Princeton conferred degrees for 1,293 undergraduates in the Class of 2025, 463 Ph.D. recipients, and 200 master’s degree recipients at the Commencement ceremony, held in Princeton Stadium. The University also awarded six honorary doctorates, to Joshua Borger, Lex Frieden (in absentia), Sherrilyn Ifill, Nancy Weiss Malkiel, Daniel Chee Tsui, and Omar M. Yaghi.

Family and friends saluted their graduates with creative gestures, holding up baby photos, giant cardboard cutout faces, and, in one section, the periodic table blocks for phosphorus, gold, lithium, and sodium (P-Au-Li-Na).

In the second level of the west bleachers, Teodoro Blanco, the father of sociology major Gustavo Blanco Quiroga ’25, blew into a pututu, an Indigenous wind instrument from Bolivia, projecting a low, resonant sound when each group of undergraduate degree recipients was announced. The instrument is used to announce special ceremonies, Blanco explained to PAW as his daughter, Tatiana, translated his words from Spanish to English. The family traveled to Princeton for the first time to see Gustavo’s graduation.

The valedictorian, chemistry major Erik Medina ’25, encouraged graduates to thank their families, professors, and peers for the support that made their Commencement celebration possible. “Creativity and determination might be uniquely individual, but we find the will to struggle — and the will to succeed — because of the people around us,” he said. “To think, how many success stories hinge on the passing encouragement of a teacher or mentor? How many great leaders stand on the shoulders of their parents’ and grandparents’ sacrifices? How much adversity has been overcome thanks to the kindness of a spouse or a friend? Simply put, the success of the human race is built on a mountain of small deeds.”

Members of Class of 2025 began their journey in the University Chapel in September 2021, wearing masks as they gathered at Opening Exercises. As the year went on, salutatorian Rosie Eden ’25 said, “we raised our spirits and lowered our masks,” according to a translation of her Latin address, and “despite this tumultuous start to our college education, we emerged victorious.”

Eden namechecked Cicero and Jupiter before conjuring the words of Taylor Swift to send her classmates out into the world, advising them to “tenete memorias, vos tenebunt.” (Yes, “Hold on to the memories. They will hold on to you.”)